When You Wish
by Vistagazer
Summary: When Draco makes a terrible wish reality is changed and he confronts what he may have felt for Ron all along. But will they survive long enough to do anything about it? NC17 version of chapter 6 is posted on Jux's website 'Fire and Ice'. Sequel: Reunion
1. Chapter 1

Be warned: this story contains slash, although it doesn't come until much later, so if that isn't your thing, then don't read this.  This story also takes place mostly in an alternate universe, so many people are very out of character.  And just so you all know, a Ceasg (you'll understand) isn't just something I made up.  You can find it, and much more, on Gareth Long's Encyclopedia of Monsters, Mythical Creatures and Fabulous Beasts. 

And please, please, please review!  It makes me happy.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, so please don't sue.

~~~ooOOoo~~~

_When You Wish…_

**Chapter 1**

"Please!  Please, you have to turn it back!"

Tears.  Sweat.  Pain.

"I am under no such obligation."

Death.  Destruction.  Chaos.

"They're all going to die!  You can stop it!  Please, don't do this!"

Rumbling.  Explosions.  Screams.

"I shall do as I please.  As for this world, it is of your creation, not mine."  Satisfied smile.

Despair.  Terror.  Fear.

"Please, you can't do this!  What do you want?  A sacrifice?  I can give you that!"

Silence.

Footsteps.

"A sacrifice!  That's what you want!  Oh, God, they're almost here.  Take me!  Take me and make everything the way it was before I wished for all of this!  Please!"

Crack.  Metal.  Flesh.  Bone.

 "_Crìoch iarr."_

Blood.  Blood.  Blood.

Light.

Nothing…

~~~ooOOoo~~~

_Six weeks earlier_

Stretched languidly on the grass underneath him, Draco Malfoy stared daggers at the short figure seated a few feet in front of him.  This figure was, of course, Harry Potter.  Harry shifted uncomfortably on the spot, aware of the piercing silver eyes that were boring into the back of his skull.  No, shifting wasn't quite the right word to describe the movement.  _Squirming, that was it, Draco decided.  Harry was absolutely __squirming.  _

_And he should be, Draco thought__, that self-righteous piece of Gryffindor trash.  After what he's done, he'd better start squirming, because when I'm through with him he'll wish he'd __nev-___

"Malfoy!"

_What?_

"What?" Malfoy drawled.

"Pay attention an' answer the question." Hagrid scowled. "What is Glumbumble treacle an antidote for?"

Draco yawned dramatically, "Hysteria from eating Alihosty leaves."

Hagrid frowned in obvious disappointment over Draco's unexpected display of intelligence.

"Thas right.  Now quit starin' at the back o' Harry's head an' take down these notes," Hagrid turned to the black board he had standing behind him on the grass and began messily writing down the characteristics of a typical Glumbumble.

Harry squirmed again at the mention of Malfoy watching him and pulled some parchment and a quill out of his book bag.  Malfoy reached into his own bag and produced the required writing materials, but they did little except decorate his lap while the rest of the class wrote furiously.  The Weasel turned and gave Malfoy a penetrating look which clearly stated 'We got you, now sod off'.  Draco promptly gave him the finger.  Ron snorted and returned to his notes.

"I saw that, Malfoy," Hagrid rumbled.  "That'll be a point from Slytherin.  An' it'll be even more if you don' start takin' down these notes."

Beside him, Pansy Parkinson looked like she wanted to protest this obviously prejudiced and unfair treatment, but Draco shot her a warning glance.  He made a big display for Hagrid of picking up his quill and beginning to write on his piece of parchment.  In front of him, Weasel and the Mudblood were snickering quietly.  Draco had to restrain himself from getting up and giving them both a good kick.  

Soon, his parchment was full not of notes, but of small doodles and drawings.  Mostly they depicted Potter dying in some horrific and painful way.  Draco was most pleased with his rendition of Harry under the Guillotine.  He had managed to capture the look of terror on Potter's face just right.  But however pleased his was with his art, Draco knew he would never be able to truly convey his feelings on paper.

This time, Harry had just gone too far and somehow Draco was going to make him pay.  

Malfoy could still remember what had transpired on that fateful morning.  It had been on a Saturday, March 14th, roughly three weeks ago.  He had come down to the Great Hall for breakfast somewhat later than usual and was surprised to find that most of the school was also there.  The teachers at their table looked more than a bit tense.  

Although the students were conversing amongst themselves, Draco could tell that something was a bit off.  When he entered the Hall it became obvious that he was being watched.  His suspicions were confirmed when that blasted Weasley had risen from his seat at the Gryffindor table and strode over to him, a copy of the Daily Prophet clutched in his hand.

"Here, Ferret, you might want to have a look at this," he'd grinned, thrusting the paper at Draco.

Draco warily took the paper from Weasley and opened it to the front page.  After a few moments, much to Ron's amusement, Draco's eyes widened as he read:

**_Malfoy_****_ Family Disgraced_**

_The Malfoy's, one of the oldest pureblood wizarding families in Britain,** have been discovered in the possession of several Dark Magic items, all **** of which are, of course, illegal.  After being given an anonymous tip, Ministry official Arthur Weasley, along with a small team of Aurors, raided **** Malfoy Manor to find the items in question hidden under the drawing room in a special compartment.  The Malfoy's were long suspected of being strong**** supporters of You-Know-Who, and the unearthing of these objects merely aids in solidifying these accusations. Lucius Malfoy commented that his son, Draco, currently attending Hogwarts, and his wife, Narcissa, have never had anything  to do with the Dark Arts or You-Know-Who. Because of Mr. Malfoy's standing in the wizarding community, his wife and son will not be questioned or prosecuted.   However, Mr. Malfoy himself faces several charges of possession of illegal goods as well as conspiracy.  He awaits his trial on August the 6th and will probably be given a sentence in Azkaban. ******_

Trembling with fury, Draco had shoved the vile paper back into Ron's hands and had stalked out of the Great Hall, laughter from the Gryffindor's echoing hauntingly in his head.  

He knew the anonymous tip couldn't have come from anyone else except Potter.  He was the only one with enough guts to tattle on a family as powerful as the Malfoy's.  Draco just wished he knew _how Potter had discovered his family's secret stash.  He had a nasty feeling that Potter and the Weasel had, in fact, known about this for some time and were simply waiting for the perfect moment._

"Draco?  Draco?"

Draco snapped suddenly out of his reverie.

"What?" he snapped unkindly.

"Class is over," Goyle responded, peering at Draco's doodles.

He chuckled stupidly and picked up the parchment.

"Is this what you're gonna do to Potter?" he asked pointing to a particularly graphic drawing of Harry with his entrails hanging out.

Draco snatched the parchment back and spat, "Don't be daft," as he shoved it into his bag and stood up, brushing grass off of his pants.  He added, "But I just wish I could… I wish I could hurt him just as badly… wish, I wish…"

A stunned expression dawned across Draco's face.  He stood rooted on the spot, while a very confused Goyle tried once more to gain his attention.  His mind worked furiously around the details of how he would properly work this plan.  He would need to visit the library, of course, that shouldn't pose a problem.  But he might need to speak with a teacher also, one who wouldn't question him, probably Snape.  However, finding what he needed could prove significantly more difficult, especially if it resided outside of Britain.  Draco bolted suddenly from where he was standing and sprinted into the school.  Goyle stood speechless, staring at the spot where Draco had previously been standing, looking perplexed.

Draco dashed down the flagstone corridors, his hurried footsteps echoing loudly, drawing the attention of the passing students, until he finally skidded to a halt in front of the entrance to the Slytherin common room.  He panted the password (Fireball) and all but threw his bag and books over the threshold.  He kept only a torn piece of scrap parchment, a quill and some ink.  

Draco skipped dinner entirely and headed straight for the library.  The more work he could get done before the end of dinner the better.  Students would file into the library after they were finished eating and Malfoy wanted as much time alone as he could possibly get.  He spent a quarter of an hour scouring the various shelves for volumes that he suspected would be helpful.  When he had collected as much as he could carry, he staggered to a table in the corner and dumped it all in front of him.  Dust flew up around his face as the books, scrolls and folders scattered across the table.  Draco collapsed into a chair and immediately opened _Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them.  He rifled slowly through the pages, carefully making sure that he thoroughly checked each one._

_Clabbert…a tree dwelling creature in appearance something like a cross between a monkey and a frog… no, that wouldn't help._

_Lethifold… once its prey has been successfully suffocated, the Lethifold digests its food there and then in their bed… eeeh, that sounded distasteful yet intriguing, but was also of no help._

Draco had soon discarded this book as well as _Past Magic For Future Uses, Bet You Wish You Knew These Spells, Rare Creatures You Probably Won't Be Able To Get Your Hands On and a rather wordy essay by a witch named Lisa Purfwoofle on the dangers and consequences of attempting to correct past mistakes by using magic.  _

It was nearly 11 o'clock by the time Draco had managed to sift through the pile of books he had gathered and he hadn't found one shred of information that might prove in the least bit worthwhile.  Madam Pince began harassing him to go back to his dormitory; he could come back first thing in the morning if he wanted.

Rubbing at the bridge of his nose, Draco wearily got out of his seat and trudged back to the Slytherin dormitories.  By now his stomach was growling impatiently, angry at being deprived nourishment for so long, but Draco was too preoccupied to notice.  He would have to talk to a teacher now.  If there was a book in the library that could help him, it must be in the Restricted Section, or he'd have found it.  While Draco would prefer to talk to Snape, he doubted if the Potions master would be entirely helpful.  What Malfoy needed he was reasonably sure was not exactly potions related, although he could be wrong.  No, Malfoy decided that in the morning he would pay a nice visit to Sibyll Trelawny.

~~~ooOOoo~~~

Lazy beams of light drifted across the Slytherin seventh year dormitory and danced playfully across Draco's face.  He mumbled slightly in his sleep and rolled over, away from the offending sun, intent on holding on to the few minutes of sleep he had left.  

The Slytherin dorms were in the dungeons and the common room was generally quite cold and sombre looking, but magical windows had been created in each dormitory to give the students a view outside so that they wouldn't feel too claustrophobic.  

Slight rustling noises filled the room as Draco's room mates began rising and preparing for the day.  They knew better than to wake him unnecessarily, especially as of late, since he was not exactly a morning person.  They knew they would face his wrath if Draco was jostled too quickly into consciousness.  

Draco groaned again.  Stupid sunlight.  You'd think it would take a day off, it was Friday after all-

Draco suddenly sat up in bed, startling the other boys.  He leaped out of bed and hastily began dressing himself.  On Fridays Draco had a free period first thing, and if he wasn't too much mistaken, Divination lessons didn't begin until after lunch.  He wanted to make sure he had as much time as possible with Professor Trelawny in case the meeting took longer than he expected.    
In his hurry, Draco tried pulling his pants on backwards a few times before Blaise Zabini cautiously ambled over to point out the mistake.

Malfoy hurtled through the school to the Great Hall and quickly snatched some toast from the nearest table, which happened to be Gryffindor, before turning and running back the way he had come.  Angry protests and a few well chosen words resonated down the halls after him.  He began the long trek up to the North Tower.  Draco had never taken Divination, but he had seen Professor Trelawny on a few occasions.  His fellow Slytherins who did take the class had informed him of her rather eccentric personality and aloofness.  He hoped she would have the information he needed.

He wanted to exact his revenge on the Terrible Trio as soon as was humanly possible.

Draco finally reached the rickety ladder which lead to Professor Trelawny's room.  He climbed it and gingerly pushed open the trap door above his head.  Upon setting foot in the classroom Draco felt an intense heat wash over him.  There was a fire burning in the fireplace opposite, as well as a multitude of candles, scattered about haphazardly.  Craning his neck, Draco searched for some sign of Professor Trelawny, but couldn't see anything.

"Umm, Professor?  Is anyone here?" he ventured.

There was a few moments of silence and Malfoy feared she wasn't here.

"Yes, yes, one moment," came a floaty voice.

Draco sighed in relief.  He wandered to the far end of the classroom and sank into a squashy looking couch to wait.  Professor Trelawny appeared a minute later, clothed in a gaudy looking purple and pink robe with numerous designs embroidered along the sides.  She looked just as Draco remembered: a wispy shawl around her head, large glasses which enlarged her eyes and a dozen bracelets, bangles and necklaces hanging everywhere.  They clinked softly whenever she moved her arms.  

She sat down loftily into an armchair facing Draco.

"Ah, yes, Mr. Malfoy is it not?  I had a feeling you might be visiting me today.  I believe I would not be mistaken in saying that you are here for some information for some extra school work you are doing?"

"Er… yes," Draco stammered.  "Yes, extra school work."

"But Mr. Malfoy, you are not in my class," she said airily.

"Yes well, I know that.  It's just that I think the information I need might be right up your alley," Draco said.  "I mean, you are an expert on the future.  I'm told there isn't anyone who's as skilful at Seeing as you."

Trelawny blushed and gave a soft giggle.  The Malfoy charm worked every time.  She quickly composed herself and gave Malfoy a small smile.

"And just what is it that you need?  I hope you're not trying to get me to give you the answers on a test that's coming up," she said with a grin.

"Oh, no, nothing like that," Malfoy waved a hand dismissively.  "I'm doing an extra credit project for Care of Magical Creatures, I have to do a bit of research but I couldn't find anything in the library on what I'm looking for.  It might be in the Restricted Section but I thought I'd just ask you if you knew anything before I went and asked for a note."

Professor Trelawny nodded intently while he said this, as though he was a wise and all-knowing being of complete omnipotence.

"Yes, yes, my Inner Eye tells me that you were right in coming to me first," at this, Draco stifled a laugh before she continued.  "Now, what is it that I can help you with?"

"Well I'm supposed to pick a creature we haven't studied that has unique magical abilities.  I was thinking of doing something that has the power to grant wishes or foresee the future, but the library just didn't have anything other than spells that wizards perform."

Professor Trelawny nodded some more before reaching out and dramatically adjusting the bangles on her wrists.  A look of concentration appeared to grace her face for a moment but quickly vanished.

"Well yes, the gift of Seeing is bestowed on some rare magical beasts, however this is rather advanced and dangerous magic, Mr. Malfoy and is really not my area of expertise.  Perhaps you should speak to Hagrid-" 

Malfoy shook his head vehemently.

"But you obviously have the necessary experience.  I really don't think there's anyone better I could possibly talk to.  All I want to know is what the creature is called and some basic facts about it.  Or if you know of a book in the library about it," Draco looked at her with what he hoped was his best puppy-dog face.

Professor Trelawny again looked pleased with the praise she was receiving.  It was clear that she would never get enough of it.  She leaned forward significantly and smiled.

"Well," she said in a spooky voice.  "I suppose it wouldn't hurt too much."

Draco smirked and pulled out some parchment and a quill.

"Centaurs, of course are very apt at reading the stars," she said.  "Though they are not properly trained in the fashion that a true Seer, like myself, is.  I imagine, however, that you have already studied Centaurs in class, yes?"

Draco nodded.

"Well, there are Bottle Imps.  Now, these are quite rare.  The most famous would be the genie from the Muggle story of Aladdin, do you know it?  Yes?  Good.  Now, a Bottle Imp is a spirit contained within a lamp. All Bottle Imps have the ability to grant the wishes of the owner of the lamp.  If the owner purposefully attempts to lose the lamp, it will return itself. The only way to get rid of the lamp is to sell it for less than than the owner paid for it."

Draco was frantically scratching away at his parchment as Professor Trelawny continued.

"There are other creatures that can grant wishes, but most of them are extinct I believe, so there wouldn't be too much information on them.  The only other beast I can imagine would be-"

She paused for effect.

"A Ceasg."

She was apparently disappointed when Draco showed no sign of knowing what she was talking about, so she moved on.

"A Ceasg is a Scottish Mermaid.  They are half human and half salmon and are very beautiful.  When captured, they will grant three wishes, however they are also notorious for luring sailors away, never to be seen again."

"Are there any Ceasg still in Scotland?" Draco asked enthusiastically.

This could be exactly what he was looking for.  Surely a half salmon wouldn't be too hard to catch and then he would be able to make Potter pay.

Professor Trelawny looked a bit fidgety. 

"I know only of one," she said in a hushed voice.  "She lives in the highlands, in an abandoned holy well.  They say something terrible happened to her, many hundreds of years ago.  She was cursed, or doomed by a higher power.  She cannot leave the well.  Nor does she grant three wishes, but however many she deems fit.  On occasion, she will grant a wish to one who finds her, but the wish must be very specific for it is said that she delights in death and blood, so if the wish is too vague she might twist it to her own liking."

She sat back in her chair impressively, like she had just told Draco he was actually the king of the world, not just a mere student.  

Draco was speechless.  This was absolutely _perfect.  His wish wouldn't be anything __but horrible.  This Ceasg would love it._

"Where can I find her?" Draco whispered.

"At the edge of the Monadhliath Mountains," Trelawny whispered back.  "They're north and west of the school.  The well is inside a small Christian temple just to the south in the forest, it's-"

She stopped abruptly and her floaty manner disappeared.  She seemed to realize she had said far too much.

"That should be enough for your research, am I correct?" she said somewhat sternly.

"Oh yes, yes," Draco said flashing her his most dashing smile.  "That will be perfect, thank you so much, Professor."

He let himself out of the stiflingly hot room and descended the ladder into the hallway, sneering to himself.  Everything should go according to plan now.  Tomorrow was Saturday.  There would be no classes.  It was the ideal time to sneak out of the castle.  He spent most of the weekend alone anyway, so it was doubtful that his absence would be noticed until classes resumed.  

He headed for the Slytherin dormitory to pick up his books for his next class, Arithmancy.  He was smiling manically all the way there, frightening a small group of Hufflepuff first years, who edged away from him and walked on the other side of the hallway.  

Unlike most of the students, in fact probably all of them, Draco knew exactly where Hogwarts was located, thanks to his Father's connections.  The castle and town of Hogsmeade were nestled in a valley between the Cairngorn and Grampian mountains in northern Scotland, not too far from the Monadhliath Mountains.  

By lunch, he had everything decided.  He would slip out in the early dawn when his roommates were still sleeping.  He would need his broomstick, of course; it would be much faster.  If all went well, he would reach the edge of the  Monadhliath Mountains by dusk or so.  

And then Harry Potter's life would rest in the palm of his hand.


	2. Chapter 2

I own nothing, as always.  Again, this is slash, so if that squicks you, don't read.  Please review.

~~~ooOOoo~~~

**Chapter 2**

In the hushed silence of the early dawn, Draco quietly closed the door to his common room and snuck down the corridor.  He was hopeful that a few people would be up to see him before he left.  That way everyone would still think he was around the school, and his absence would go unnoticed.  

He still wanted to make sure he got away early, though.  It was a long flight to the mountains by broomstick.

Slung over his shoulder, he carried a small burlap sack with some magically shrunken food and bottle of water.  It also contained a few stolen items from his home which he planned to use as bargaining chips in case the Ceasg was less than willing to grant his wish.  He wasn't especially convinced though, that she would be very interested in jewels or gold.

As Draco rounded a corner he ran into someone.  But it was the exact someone he had been hoping to avoid and Draco was so surprised that he dropped his broomstick he had been carrying.  It fell to the stone floor with a clatter.

"Oh!  Mr. Malfoy!" Dumbledore cried.  "You surprised me!"

Despite his momentary confusion, Malfoy was immediately fighting to suppress a fit of giggles.  Dumbledore had a fluffy blue towel over his shoulders and was wearing nothing but swimming trunks with a pattern of snitches on them.  In one hand he held a bright pink bar of soap and in the other a rubber duckie which quacked indignantly at Draco.

Draco ground his teeth together to keep from laughing and bent down quickly to retrieve his broom.

"I'm sorry, Sir," he managed to squeak.

"I'm afraid you've caught me on my way for an early morning dip in the pool of the Professor's bathroom," Dumbledore chuckled.  "I like to go early, before the others get there.  It's complete insanity on the weekends.  If I don't get there soon, Severus will hog the whole place and fill the tub with strawberry bubbles," at this he wrinkled his nose, "And I really loath the strawberry bubbles."

Draco nodded dumbly, hoping the grin he felt coming on wasn't showing on his face.  Dumbledore's cheerful demeanour was suddenly replaced with a serious expression.

"What are you doing up so early, Mr. Malfoy?" he asked.  "I thought I had it on good authority that you were most certainly not a morning person."

Malfoy's mind raced to find an excuse.  He had not been expecting an interrogation from a teacher.  They should all still be in bed.  If he wasn't careful about what he said, his meticulously thought out plan would go up in smoke.

"Oh, well, I'm not, not really anyway," Draco said, biting his lip.  "I just, er, wanted to get in some flying practice this morning before the pitch gets too busy.  You know how the weekends are."

Draco lifted up his broom as evidence of his activities.

"Ah, yes of course," Dumbledore nodded sagely.  "I must agree that it is always nice to be able to be by yourself at times.  Just do me a favour, Mr. Malfoy, and try not to get into any spats with anyone else who wishes to use the pitch."

"Of course, Sir," Draco said.

Dumbledore winked cheekily at him.

"That's a good boy.  Now, if you'll excuse me, Quackster and I," he lifted the rubber duckie, "have a bath to take!"

Draco smiled and watched Dumbledore disappear around the corner.  He shook his head in disbelief.  That headmaster really was nutters.  Draco carefully peered down the next hallway to check for any other approaching teachers.  The last thing he needed was a scantily clad Snape finding him and wanting to know where he was going.

Once outside, Draco surveyed the countryside before him.  The sun had just barely peeked over the horizon; the sky was still a deep red at the edge of the mountains.  It was a bit chilly and Draco pulled his robes a bit tighter around his body.  

As he walked down the stone steps and set foot on the grass dew and mud squelched under his feet.  He walked a little ways away from the school and swung a leg over his broom.  Casting a glance over his shoulder, he sneered and took off.

~~~ooOOoo~~~

Ron pressed his nose against the window of the Gryffindor seventh year dormitory.  He squinted his eyes, unsure if they were betraying him.  He was pretty sure that was Malfoy down there, the hair was certainly the right colour.  But what was Malfoy doing out there?  And so early?

Ron reached over and prodded Harry in his bed.

"Oy, Harry, wake up," he said.

Harry mumbled incoherently and lashed out with his leg, catching Ron in the stomach.  Ron coughed in pain and groaned, doubling over.  He smacked Harry on the arm.

"Ow!" Harry proclaimed, waking suddenly.  "Why'd you hit me?"

"I was trying to wake you up and you kicked me, you great prat," Ron said.  "Now get over here and take a look at this."

He pointed towards the window.  Harry snatched up his glasses from his bedside table and shoved them on his face.  He stumbled awkwardly out of bed and half fell to the window. 

"What's he doing out there?" Harry wondered aloud, as Malfoy climbed on to his broom and took off.  "Hey!  Where's he going?"

"No idea," Ron shook his head.  "Probably off to try and break his dad out of protective custody and run off."

"That would be horrible.  If he actually got away with that, I mean," Harry said.

"Hey, look on the bright said," Ron said.  "If they did run off, we'd never have to seen him again."

"That would be fantastic," Harry grinned and then gave Ron a not-so-playful punch in the arm.  "And that's for waking me up!  I'm going back to bed."     

Ron rubbed his arm and then returned to his own bed.  Despite his joking about Malfoy trying to attempt a jailbreak, he had a bad feeling about wherever Malfoy was off to.  Deep in the pit of his stomach he was sure that boy was up to no good.

"And you didn't tell a teacher!" Hermione screeched later at breakfast.  "He could be anywhere!  He might be trying to hurt someone!  He might even be hurt himself!"

Students from other tables were looking around quizzically to see where all the noise was coming from.  Harry and Ron made shushing motions with their hands and tried to calm Hermione.

"What were we supposed to say, Hermione?" Ron asked.  "'Sir, we just saw Draco Malfoy take off on his broomstick'.  It doesn't mean anything.  We'd sound like a couple of coots!"

"We didn't even see where he went," Harry affirmed.  "For all we know, he was just taking a few practice laps on the Quidditch pitch."

"You said he flew past the pitch towards the mountains," Hermione said, her eyes narrowed.

Ron and Harry looked at each other, now regretting having mentioned this to Hermione.  They really should have known better.

"Well, erm, he probably just wanted to fly around a bit before coming back to the pitch," Ron said.

Hermione gave him an extremely exasperated look.

"Oh, Hermione, lighten up," Ron cracked.  "If we're lucky he's flown far, far, far away and we'll never have to lay eyes on him again.  Just think, you'll be top in your Arithmancy class."

Hermione's angry glare turned dreamy for a moment.  It was a constant plague in her life that Draco was the top student in her Arithmancy class.  Although he wasn't beating Hermione by more than a few percent, he was still beating her and it was a source of regular teasing from her two best friends.

Her scowl quickly returned.

"That's not the point, Ron," she said.  "What if he's in trouble?"

"Who cares?" Ron said earnestly.  "Look, if you want to tell a teacher, fine go for it, we won't stop you, but I'm not doing it."

Ron sat back and crossed his arms with finality.  Hermione made a huffing noise and uttered something that sounded distinctly like 'git' but made no move to go alert a teacher.  Ron looked at Harry with an expression of triumph.  He rarely won arguments with Hermione.  Still, he had a feeling that Malfoy was up to something.  He probably should tell a teacher.

But he would sell his teeth before he admitted that to Hermione.

~~~ooOOoo~~~

It was almost noon before Draco stopped for a rest.  His hands were aching from gripping his broomstick all morning, but that was nothing compared to the pain in his backside.  Racing brooms were simply not constructed for long flights.

He propped his broom against a tree and looked at it as though it had done something wrong.  It was the same Nimbus 2001 his father had bought him in his second year at Hogwarts.  It was severely outdated now, and old enough that it could barely exceed 20 kilometres per hour, but he still had a certain fondness for it.

Not right now, though.  Right now he was bitter because his bum was very sore.

He sat down and opened his sack, magicking the crackers and cheese he had brought back to their normal size, as well as the water.  He estimated he only had a couple of hours left.  Navigating his way was harder than he had at first anticipated.  His broom kept leaning to the right, which had forced him to backtrack several times before he discovered the problem.    

Finishing his small meal, he picked up his broom and rose once more into the air.  It had become very hot and the sun on the back of his neck was probably going to burn him.  He had long ago stopped enjoying the scenery and was simply keeping a look out for the mountains.  He tried to keep his broom steady, but in his fatigue he was led of course a few more times and had to backtrack again.

The sun was hanging low in the sky when he finally spotted the Monadhliath Mountains.  They were very rocky and wild looking, with deep black forests covering them.  As they got closer he landed.  Professor Trelawny had said the well was at the base of the mountains on the edge of the forest.  It was then that he realized how vast these mountains were.  They went on for miles in each direction.  He might never find the well.  

Disheartened for a moment, he suddenly felt a very strong urge to start walking towards his right.  He followed this feeling, letting his feet carry them as though they were alive.  A low mist was creeping in from the mountains.  The forest soon became very foggy and Draco couldn't see more than a few feet in front of him.  As the night approached he could hear the evening creatures of the forest coming to life.

He heard the hoot of an owl and the sounds of a few crickets.  He continued walking and a heavy feeling in his stomach began developing.  It got stronger and stronger as he walked, as though someone was pressing down on it.

Abruptly, all the sounds of the night time animals stopped.  Draco halted in his footsteps.  He looked around cautiously.  The sun was setting now, and only a faint purple light was illuminating the forest.  The mist curled around the gnarled trees in snake-like patterns.  His heart began beating very fast as Draco started moving again.  It was absolutely silent.  Even his feet against the dry leaves scattered on the ground didn't make any noise.  Draco didn't think he had ever been this uneasy.  He contemplated turning back and getting his revenge on Potter the old fashioned way: dumping paint on him in front of the school or something.

Just as he was about to turn around, the mist parted to reveal a small stone dwelling.  It looked old, perhaps thousands of years old.  Vines covered it almost completely.  In fact the only way to tell what is was, was the moss-covered cross on top.  It had no visible windows and a very shabby looking wooden door, which looked like it might disintegrate if Draco touched it.  All in all, it couldn't have been much larger than Hagrid's hut.

Taking a deep breath, Draco stepped forward and pushed lightly against the door.  At first it didn't move.  Draco pushed a bit harder.  Still nothing.  It was a few tense moments later that he realized he needed to pull the door.  Walking inside, Draco couldn't see anything.  There were, obviously, no lit candles inside and it was now quite dark outside.  Pulling out his wand he muttered, "_Lumos," and a dim light reflected against the stone walls.  He caught a brief glimpse of cockroaches scurrying away from the light before they disappeared.  He swung his arm in an arc to get a better look of the well.  The room was circular, maybe thirty feet across.  There was a small Christian altar to his right with a very mangy looking Bible on it.  There really wasn't a floor, just the dirt of the ground.  There weren't any hangings or pictures on the wall, but there was a large brownish splotch on one wall and Draco had a queasy feeling that it was blood.  Suddenly, this didn't seem like such a good idea anymore._

Draco felt like he couldn't control his movements as he walked slowly forwards to the opposite end of the room.  The well itself was sunken into the floor.  It was quite small around, probably just big enough for a slender person to fit through.  The water inside was very murky with a few dead leaves floating in it.  Draco stood at the edge of the well and peered over it, waiting for some sign of the Ceasg.  His heart was pounding so hard he thought it might leap from his chest.  Seconds turned into minutes.  The minutes dragged on for what seemed like hours.  And still nothing happened.  Maybe there wasn't anything here at all.  Maybe Professor Trelawny had finally lost what marbles she had left.  Draco stooped to pick up a rock from the ground and tossed it angrily into the well.  It made no noise when it hit the water.

"Thanks for nothing," he hissed and turned to leave.

As soon as he had his back turned, there was a deafening _boom and Draco was thrown forward.  He landed ungracefully on his stomach, the wind knocked out of him.  Wriggling frantically, Draco managed to get to his knees and turned around.  His jaw dropped and he nearly fell back down._

A beautiful woman was floating in mid-air in front of him.  There was a glowing light surrounding her and it seemed to give of heat.  She had long, curly locks of strawberry blonde hair cascading down her shoulders.  Her skin was a creamy ivory colour which seemed to shine from the light around her.  Starting just below her belly button was a long, slim fish tail.  It was definitely salmon, with a light pink colour in the middle and silver the rest of the way around.  It sparkled so brightly Draco had to shield his eyes.  He had never been so afraid before.  She had fixed him with an icy stare which was startling because her eyes had no pupils, they were completely white. 

She opened her mouth and a strange melodic sound filled the room.

"Who are you?" she asked.

Her voice seemed to echo slightly.  Draco swallowed and took several deep breaths.  After a moment, he got to his feet, his legs shaking violently.

"My name's Draco Malfoy," he said at last.

"Draco Malfoy," she repeated.  "Why have you disturbed me?"

"I, uh, I…" Draco stuttered.

"Come closer, Draco Malfoy," the Ceasg said, beckoning him forward.

At first Draco couldn't move, then one of his feet jerked up and he walked closer to her, stopping when he was at an arm's length.

"Closer," she said.

Trembling, Draco moved so that he was less than a foot from her.  The Ceasg reached out and touched the side of his face.  Draco was immediately overcome with a feeling of despair and hopelessness.  It took all his self restraint not to turn and bolt.  The Ceasg didn't seem quite so beautiful anymore.

The Ceasg let her hand fall away from his face.  The sick feeling in his stomach still lingered.  Draco was almost panting he was taking such deep breaths to calm himself.  In any other situation he would be extremely embarrassed, but he was far too afraid.

The Ceasg smiled at him.  Despite her beauty, it was a terrible thing to see.  Everything about it screamed evil.  Draco had never actually met Lord Voldemort, but he imagined that when the Dark Lord smiled, it looked something like this.

"Yes, Draco Malfoy, I can see your hate," she said softly.  "You crave revenge on those who have wronged you."

Draco nodded silently.  

"Perhaps I will help you," the Ceasg said.  "It has been some time since I granted my last wish; very few can find this wretched place."

She reached out and stroked Draco's cheek again.  He flinched involuntarily, expected the same feelings of pain, but instead was filled with a deep confidence and a newly revived desire for revenge.  His lip curled into a sneer.  The Ceasg smiled back at him.  This time, it didn't look so bad.  

"What would you wish for?" she inquired.  "I can grant whatever you wish: I could destroy those he loves most, or crush his spirit."

Triumph glinted in Draco's eyes.  He could do anything he wanted.  He could wish for Potter to experience gut wrenching pain for the rest of his life.  Or kill the Weasel and the Mudblood, forcing Potter into a life of solitude and regret.  

Or he could just get rid of the problem all together.

"No, neither of those," Draco said.  "Something better."

He took a step back from the Ceasg, still smiling.  She smiled back, hunger and desire all over her face.

"I wish," Draco said slowly.  "That Harry Potter had never been born."

Draco saw her raise her arms above her head before a blinding light filled the room.  He was thrown backwards, slamming hard into something.  There was a loud _whooshing noise which grew in volume until Draco thought his head might explode.  Then Draco felt he was falling.  The extreme light suddenly became complete darkness.  He continued falling.  _

Draco landed hard.  His head hit the ground and he lost consciousness.

~~~ooOOoo~~~

There was a buzzing noise coming from somewhere.  It grew more and more intense until it was almost unbearable.  Groaning, Draco opened his eyes a fraction.  His head was pounding.  He was lying on his stomach; all he could see was the stone floor under him.  He tried to push himself up but was overcome with a wave of dizziness and collapsed back to the floor.  Other than the buzzing in his head, he couldn't hear anything.

It was bright though.  Too bright and it hurt his eyes.  Waiting for a few minutes for the dizziness to subside Draco pushed himself up again, quickly before his body had a chance to crumple under him.  He managed to get to his knees.  The whole world spun before his eyes.  Griping the side of his head with one hand, he placed the other on the floor to steady himself. 

When he had regained composure, he took a look around.  He was back at Hogwarts, in the Entrance Hall.  The Great Hall, just to his left looked empty.  The entire place was empty, in fact.  Slowly, he rose on unstable legs.  Leaning heavily on the wall for a moment, he began to walk.  He made his way down the charms corridor.

_This is just great, he thought, __all that work and she just sends me back here.  What a waste._

He passed by a window and looked out at the grounds and lake.  There weren't any students outside.  As he kept making his way to his dormitory he became slightly more aware of the fact that there wasn't a single person anywhere.  It was the weekend.  There should have been dozens of students out playing on the grounds.

_Where is everyone?_

He also noticed that there weren't any people in the paintings hanging on the walls.  They were all just canvases of backgrounds or landscapes.  The suits of armour had disappeared and he hadn't seen any sign of Peeves.  Draco started feeling nervous.  Had Dumbledore realised he was gone and sent the school out looking for him?  He would be expelled for sure.  

He very cautiously turned the corner to the dungeons where his dormitory was.  Reaching the blank wall, he wearily ran a hand through his hair and said, "Fireball."

The wall didn't move.

"Fireball," he repeated.

Nothing.

"Fireball!  Dammit, Fireball!"  he yelled.

The wall began to slide open.

"Finally, stupid bloody thi-"

A hand had grabbed Draco by the front of his robes and violently jerked him into the room.  Draco cried a surprised "Hey!" before knocking into the side of a table.  He yelped in pain and looked around.

More than twenty wands were pointed at him.


	3. Chapter 3

Nothing is mine, blah blah, this is slash, blah blah.  And as always, please review!

~~~ooOOoo~~~

**Chapter 3**

Draco gazed around incredulously.  What was going on?  This was _his common room, and who were these people?  The common room looked different too.  All the couches were gone.  In there place stood several long tables laid out with models of Hogwarts, maps of Britain and Ireland, small Darks Arts objects and an assortment weapons.  There were maps pinned to the walls as well with arrows drawn all over them.  Taking a second look at the people around him, he wasn't sure if he had ever seen any of them before.  _

Nevertheless, he didn't fancy being on the receiving ends of any of these wands, so he rose his arms in retreat.

"Get his wand," someone said.

A brown-haired boy reached forward cautiously and plucked Draco's wand from his pocket.  He gave it to a younger looking girl who was completely bald and who began examining it intensely, prodding it with her own wand.  

While she checked it over, the person giving orders asked, "What's your name?"

"Draco Malfoy," Draco answered.

"Where are we right now?" the person said.  

"The Slytherin common room at Hogwarts," Draco said.

A few people looked suspicious at this response.  After a moment the girl returned his wand to the person giving the orders.

"It's definitely Draco's, but we'll have to test him," she said, jerking her head in Draco's direction.

The person giving the orders stepped forward and Draco got a better look at him.  He was young, probably no older than Draco himself.  He was dressed completely in black, in a sleeveless vest, pants and boots.  His spiked hair looked like it had been bright red once, but seemed somehow faded.  Most noticeable was the scar that ran from just above his left eye to just below.  It made his blue eyes all the more piercing.

Draco suddenly recognized him.

"Weasley?" he asked in a disbelieving tone.

He received no response.  The boy simply grabbed Draco's arm and pushed back the sleeve of his robe.

"Hey!" Draco cried, but did not move; wands were still pointed at him.  "What are you doing?"

"_Sanguis," he muttered, pointing his wand at Draco's arm._

Blood immediately blossomed painlessly on his skin.  The bald girl came forward with a small vial and scooped up some of the blood.  She then walked over to a cabinet and retrieved several unmarked bottles and an empty glass.  She poured out portions of the liquids in each bottle into the glass and waited for a few moments.  It smoked lightly and turned clear.  She then carefully added three drops of the blood.  It swirled for a moment and then exploded with a _bang.  When the smoke cleared, the solution had turned a dazzling silver._

"It's him," the girl confirmed.

"You're sure?" the boy who looked like Ron asked.

"Positive," she replied.

Immediately the wands dropped.  The buzz of conversation in the room seemed to return, with people turning back to the tables and pointing at the maps.  Draco was completely confused.

"Sorry about that, Draco," the Ron look-a-like said, slapping Draco on the back.  "It's just you came to the door and started screaming at it like a crazy person, we thought you were a spy in disguise."

Draco shrugged Ron's hand away, looking back at the entrance to see that it had been charmed so that they could see out into the hallway.

"Weasley?" he repeated.

"Yes?" Ron said.  "What?  What's wrong?"

"You're in my common ro-" Draco started to yell, but stopped when the brown-haired boy from earlier came over.

He began to tell Ron something, but Draco instantly paled, having got a better look at him.  The boy noticed and stopped talking, giving Draco a strange look.

"What?" he asked.

Draco stared at Cedric, his mouth hanging open.  He was utterly speechless.  He looked exactly as Draco remembered except for one thing: there was a very ugly scar disfiguring his face.  It started at the right corner of Cedric's lips and went all the way to his right ear.  It pulled his skin to the side in a very grotesque fashion.  It made his whole face seem rather lopsided, like someone had lodged a hook at the corner of his lip and pulled.

"Draco?" Ron said.  "What is it?  You look like you've seen a ghost."

Draco managed a small squeaky noise.

"Draco, what is the matter with you?" he said, then turned to Cedric.  "Give us a few minutes, Ced, I'll be back."

Ron grabbed Draco's hand and led him up the stairs to the dormitories.  He opened the first door and pulled Draco inside, closing the door behind them.  The dorm room had also changed.  The four-poster beds were gone, replaced with very military looking cots.  Ron sat on a cot and motioned for Draco to sit beside him.  Draco did so apprehensively.  Ron placed a comforting hand on Draco's knee.  Looking disgusted, Draco shoved it away.  _Why does he keep touching me?  Ron looked slightly offended._

"Why are you acting so strange?" Ron asked softly.  "Did something happen out there?  Where did you get these robes?  And what's all this about the base being the Slytherin common room?"

"Out where?  What are you talking about?" Draco asked.  "Is this some prank you and Potter have cooked up to rub in the fact that you've publicly humiliated me?  Because I've just about had enough."

"What?" Ron looked equally confused.  "Who's Potter?"

"You know, Pot- Oh…oh my God," Draco suddenly realized.

His wish had been granted.  He had been returned to Hogwarts in a Harry Potter free world.  Everything around him now was a result of having no Potter in the world.  That was why everything was different, why Cedric Diggory was back.  

Draco took a few slow breaths, trying to calm his heart.  He felt elated and frightened at the same time.  Obviously in this reality, there was something dangerous going on, dangerous enough to fear for spies.  Voldermort perhaps?  That made sense; without Harry having been born to stop him, Voldemort probably wouldn't have run into many problems gaining power.  But why was Draco here, with Ron and Cedric fighting against Voldemort?  He should be with his father _helping the Dark Lord.  That was what he had always wanted._

"Potter, you know, Harry Potter, your best friend," Draco said, testing Ron for a response.

Ron shook his head, looking blank.  

"Oh, sorry," Draco said.  "I just, um, when I was, uh, outside, I fell and hit my head very hard on the floor.  I'm, um, having some trouble remembering things."

"Oh, well here," Ron pulled out his wand.  "_Memoria reparare."_

Draco felt a tingling but didn't sense any new memories.

"Nothing," he shook his head. 

"That's funny," Ron said.  "It's always worked before."

"Who's the bald girl?" Draco asked, trying to change the subject before Ron saw through his act.  "She looks familiar."

"It's Ginny, my sister."

"That's Ginny?  She should really reconsider that look.  It's a bit creepy, her with no hair."

Ron's expression hardened.

"She keeps it like that in memory of Percy," he said stiffly. 

"Oh, sorry," Draco said, rather unconvincingly.  "Do your other brothers do the same thing?"

"Other brothers?"

"Yeah, the two older ones and the twins," Draco said.

"Draco, there was just Percy, Ginny and me," Ron replied.  "You know that."

"Oh, yes, of course," Draco said, then ventured, "What about Granger?"

He hoped dearly that she wasn't dead, or he risked sounding like even more of a lunatic.

"Hermione?" Ron said much to Malfoy's relief.  "She's sleeping right now, she's on the night shift tonight."

There was an awkward pause.  Draco examined his hands, while Ron became intensely interested in the floor.  

"So, we're in a war of some sort, obviously," Draco said, grasping at straws.  "Has Voldemort killed many people?  Are we winning?"

Draco was hoping to understand why he was fighting with these people he hated so much.

"Voldemort?  You killed him, Draco," Ron said.

Draco digested this information.  _Wait a minute._

"_I killed Voldemort?" Draco asked._

"Yes," said Ron.  "After he killed your father.  But Voldemort was never really that powerful after his protégé took over, was he?  He only caught your father by surprise.  Then you joined the Resistance.  That was three years ago."

"So then, their leader is…" Draco trailed off.

Ron misunderstood that Draco didn't know who it was and simply nodded emphatically, saying, "You-Know-Who."

_Ah, so the You-Know-Who business still exists only it's a different person, I wonder who, Draco thought._

"So why are we so scared of him?" Draco said

"Well, he found the way to block the Avada Kedavra curse ten years ago or so.  So since he became immortal-"

"He's immortal?" Draco was stunned.

This was not turning out exactly as he had hoped.

"As far as we know," Ron affirmed.  "He hasn't aged a day in thirty years and we've never managed to hurt him, and we have some of the most qualified people here.  Black, Krum, Lupin, Longbottom.  They're all debilitated in some way now, of course."

Draco stood, shaking his head.  This wasn't what he had been expected.  He had thought he would come back to be the star of the school, since Precious Potter wouldn't be there to steal the glory.  Weasley and Granger would be worthless nobodies, doomed to lives of solitude and loneliness.  He had never anticipated a war, even though the thought was strangely tempting.  He supposed this was the doing of the Ceasg.  She had seen a chance to create chaos and had gone for it.  

"Draco?" Ron questioned softly, bringing Malfoy back to reality.

_Why does he keep calling me Draco?_

"Yes?"

"Do you remember anything about, y'know, life here?" he asked this almost haltingly, as though he was afraid to know the answer.

"No," Draco said.  "Not really, no.  Bits and pieces.  But I'm sure it'll come back," he added when he saw the look on Ron's face.

It had been a pained look.  Anger and sadness.  A strange mixture that didn't seem to work well together because Ron's blank expression returned at once.  He stood abruptly and faced Draco.

"You should get some rest," he said.

Draco did feel unexpectedly tired.  He hoped that Weasley wouldn't touch him anymore before he left.

"Yes," he agreed, sinking back down to the cot.

"I'll wake you up in a few hours," Ron said, turning to leave.

Draco pulled the thin sheet on the cot over his body.  He would have to work a bit harder at acting like he fit in.  This was reality now, however strange it might be.  At least he had gotten what he'd wished for.  He felt happier at the thought of waking up and still being in a world free of The Boy Who Was Too Special.

 The mattress was very hard and the pillow was flat, but that didn't stop him from swiftly drifting off.

~~~ooOOoo~~~~

Ron closed the door and returned to the common room.  Cedric was waiting for him.

"What was that about?" Cedric asked.

"He says he fell outside and hit his head pretty hard.  He says he can't remember much, but there were things he recalled," Ron shrugged.  "I tried a memory charm to help but it didn't do anything.  I had to fill him in a bit on what we've been doing since he got here.  It was strange.  I get the feeling he's hiding something.  He's sleeping right now, in any case.  Is Hermione up yet?"

"Yes," came Hermione's voice.

She came over and stood with Ron and Cedric.  Her bushy hair was tied in a pony tail, but a few wisps had come loose around her face.  She was wearing similar attire to Ron and Cedric, in fact, everybody was.  Unlike the others, she was reasonably scar free.

"How are the plans coming?"  Ron asked her.

Ron had joined the Resistance when he was nine.  Now, at eighteen, he was the command leader at this base in Hogwarts.  There were other bases located in London, Manchester, Glasgow, Dublin and Cork City.  He had seen his parents and brother killed, as well as many close friends, like Seamus Finnigan and Colin Creevey.  With Hermione and Cedric as his second in commands, they regulated roughly a hundred people.  It was, by far, the largest Resistance base left.  Most of the other only included twenty or so members.  And their numbers were dwindling quickly.  

"Badly," Hermione said.

"Our informant bailed," Cedric continued.  "At the last minute she said she didn't want to risk the Death Eaters finding out it was her.  So we're pretty much back where we started.  We don't know where they are or if they're planning an attack."

Ron cursed.  They had been counting on a Death Eater witch turned spy to supply them with the location of You-Know-Who's headquarters.  Now they would have to go back to remaining in hiding here in the castle and warding off any possible attacks.

"But," Hermione added in a thoughtful voice, then stopped.

"What?" Ron said.  "But what?"

"What do we say first?" Hermione said in a teasing tone.

Ron and Cedric rolled their eyes and recited, "We bow to your wisdom."

"Better," Hermione smiled.  "A few days ago I sent Goyle out on a mission, and he has recently returned with a little treat for us."

"Did he capture someone?" Cedric asked eagerly.

"Oh, God no, he's dead now, but before he died he said 'Fife'," Hermione said.

"He's dead!" Ron raged.  "You don't even have the authority to send anyone out without my permission.  You knew sending him out like that would get him killed!  We can't afford to lose anyone, Granger!"

"We're losing this war, Ron!" Hermione screamed back.  "Just in case you haven't noticed!  I needed to take the initiative because you won't!  And were you listening?  Goyle found out where the Death Eaters are!  In Fife!  And they know we know now.  They'll be on their way soon.  All of them, I would say."

"You just said the planning was going badly," Cedric contradicted.

"What can I say?  I like to surprise you guys," Hermione said.

Ron still looked very displeased about having lost Goyle.  Greg had been one of their top reconnaissance members.  Over the years he had provided invaluable information on countless occasions.  

"How long do you think we have?" Ron inquired.

"A week at most," Hermione informed him.  "And You-Know-Who's not stupid.  He knows we're at Hogwarts and he has enough followers to surround the castle.  We'll need to call in every other Resistance base in Europe to even hope to have a chance."

"Okay, everybody listen up!" Ron called.

Conversation stopped and heads turned to face him.

"We've just received notice that the Shit Eaters are headed our way.  We need to start getting some defences for the castle set up now.  King, McCarthy, you'll be in charge of that.  I want some sort of repellent charm or blocking curse, something to hold them back for a while.  Webster, I need you to get a hold of every Resistance base in Europe that you can, tell them to get their asses over here.  The rest of us need to start working on an attack plan.  And one that will work this time, I don't want another episode like the Hogsmeade fiasco."

Instantly shouts echoed through the room.  The people on their rest shift were woken and put to work.  More maps were withdrawn from hidden places and an entire wall of the common room was flipped around to reveal a detailed map of Hogwarts and the surrounding area.  The room was soon full of people and it became quite loud.  Weapons began getting distributed.  Although magic was the chief weapon in a battle, if one lost their wand, they needed something else to rely on, and there was nothing wrong with fighting with an axe or sword.  They produced the same result in the end.

Unexpectedly a loud blaring siren sounded and the room flashed with a red light.  People began yelling in frightened tones.  

"What's going on!"  Ron bellowed at Hermione.  "You said a week!  How did they get here so soon?"

"I was wrong!" Hermione yelled back over the noise.  "They must have followed right behind Goyle!  We'd better get moving or we'll all be dead!"

In his bed, Draco had been jolted awake by the deafening alarm.  He struggled to untangle himself from the sheet on his bed and stumbled out.  When he straightened himself, he was facing the single magically produced window in the room.  Looking out, he saw dark figures advancing on the walls.  They were Death Eaters, he was sure of it.  But the Death Eaters only compromised maybe a hundred of the people he saw.  He could make out dozens of Dementors.  Perhaps it was because of the sheer number of them, but Draco could already feel the cold creeping in.  There were also several dozen giants coming.  Some were pure giants, twenty and thirty feet tall, carrying all sorts of clubs and spiked weapons.  There were half giants too, smaller but no less menacing.  The group had stopped, obviously encountering some kind of invisible magical barrier.  The Death Eaters pointed their wands at it and shot red sparks at it.  After a few moments the barrier fizzled a bluish colour and dissolved.  They came running, the ground shaking under the weight of the giants.

The door to the room burst open and Ron came running in.  He grabbed Draco's arm and thrust a sword into it.

"You've got your wand right?" he asked hurriedly.

"Yes, why?" Draco said in shocked surprise.

"Why?  You git, look out the window!  Now come on, we've got to get out there before they storm the castle!"

He shoved Draco in the direction of the door.  Draco had a sinking feeling.  He'd never been in a real battle before and this reality was seeming less appealing with each passing minute.  What if he died as soon as he got out there?  His wish would be for nothing and he wouldn't have even gotten to enjoy it.  He was rushed through hallways along with the other Resistance fighters.  His heart beat frantically in his chest as they neared the doors that led outside.  He had his wand gripped tightly in his left hand and the sword in the right.  

When they reached the doors the people in front opened them and continued running outside, shouting a number of curses Draco was sure he had never heard before.  Explosions immediately sounded followed by screams.

Before he could pass out or run away, Draco was thrust into the midst of the Death Eaters.  


	4. Chapter 4

If you haven't read all my disclaimers by now, you might want to consult a doctor.  Please review!

~~~ooOOoo~~~

**Chapter 4**

As soon as Draco stepped outside it was like everything went into slow motion.  The sounds were all strangely dimmed.  Although it seemed like chaos, the Resistance fighters obviously had some sort of battle strategy.  They were working in groups, systematically taking the giants out first.  For all their bulk, the giants really didn't seem to be very good fighters.  Their bodies soon littered the ground.  Draco was jostled about as people pushed past him to get at the Death Eaters.  Someone grabbed his arm.

"Draco, get out there!"  Hermione yelled above the noise before running forward.

It sounded so distant to Draco when she said it, like she was at the other end of a very long tunnel.  Draco faintly heard the curses and hexes being shouted.  They were all unfamiliar to him and had effects he hadn't seen before.  There were screams of pain and shouts of triumph.

_Isn't this what you always wanted? Draco's mind questioned.  __War?  You always dreamt of this._

_Yes, Draco thought back, __But I'm supposed to be on the other side._

_Well you're fighting with the Muggle lovers now, so might as well make the best of it, his conscience responded._

It all happened so quickly, Draco barely had time to react.  A Death Eater came running at him from the left, his wand raised, his lips forming the beginnings of a curse.  He was running so fast and he came so close.  Draco made a half turn and lifted his right hand.  The end of his sword plunged into the Death Eater's chest.  The Death Eater gurgled and slumped to the ground.  Draco's sword came out of his body as he fell with a wet noise, coated with blood.  Draco looked at it, the way the blood ran in thin rivulets down the shaft of the sword and puddled at the bottom before running over onto his hand.

He got a sudden flash in his mind, brief and bright like lightning.  Another battle, like this one, only somewhere else and he was standing amidst the bodies in the aftermath, covered in blood.  He was beginning to get his memories of this reality.  It would only be a matter of time now, Draco assumed, before all the memories of this world were planted in his mind by the power of the Ceasg.   

Another Death Eater came towards him.  Everything snapped back into normal speed.  The screaming and explosions were amplified and people's movements sped up.  Draco raised his wand and shouted, "_Reducto!"_

Normally used for solid barriers like stone, the Death Eater's body was blown apart so completely, it was only a shower of liquids.  Draco was sprayed with blood.  He realized that he had an advantage: many of the spells he knew were uncommon here, so they would be less easily blocked

Feeling suddenly cold he whipped around to see a seven foot tall Dementor bearing down on him.  Having never learned the patronus charm, Draco performed the first thing that came to mind, a banishing charm, and the Dementor went flying backwards.  

Another Death Eater appeared and Draco yelled, "_Diffindo!"  The Death Eater split down the middle with a terrible scream.  Draco had never imagined some of these charms he'd learned could be used so gruesomely.  _

Something knocked him harshly forward.  Turning around, Draco had his wand ready, but dropped it when he saw who it was.

"Hagrid!" he called above the noise.  "I didn't know you were here!"

Hagrid raised the club he was carrying and gave a mighty swing at Draco's head.  Someone pushed him out of the way just before it hit, but Draco could feel the rushing air over his head as it passed.  The person who had saved him called out a curse Draco didn't know which sounded like '_annullare absolutio'.  Hagrid's body shook violently and dissolved into a pile of ash._

"Be a bit more careful!" Ron shouted to Draco before running off.

Draco scrambled back to his feet and quickly took care of another giant and a few more Death Eaters.  Smoke was obstructing his vision now, and he could feel the heat of a fire.  He sensed the absence of any more Dementors and wondered if they had all left or been destroyed.  He began coughing loudly as the smoke grew thicker.  It started blocking the sun.

"_Ventus!" Draco called and a strong wind began blowing the smoke away._

The source of the fire, Draco saw, was the Forbidden Forest which was going up in flames.  As the smoke cleared, Draco saw that the fight was mostly over.  A few Resistance fighters were dealing with the last of the Death Eaters, but other than that, Draco couldn't see any Dementors or giants left standing.  Apparently in this reality there was some spell for killing a Dementor because their bodies were strewn about everywhere.  Draco noted that there weren't any Resistance fighters who were dead.  He called this to Ginny's attention as she passed him.

"We've got the best trained people here," she told him in a tone that suggested she thought he was losing his mind.  "Everyone knows they can't afford to die so no one does."

How could someone decide not to die just because their cause couldn't afford it?  Draco thought that was a strange explanation, so chose to stick with the fact that they were too well trained to be killed.  

Cedric and Hermione were now wading through the bodies of Death Eaters, looking for anyone alive who they could hold prisoner.  Others were also doing the same thing.  Draco thought he should to, if only to appear as though he knew what he was doing.  He began kicking nearby bodies for signs of life.  Some of them burst into flame at his touch, while other shrivelled up.  Some just didn't move.  

Although it felt like the battle lasted for hours, Draco estimated it had lasted no longer than ten minutes at the most.  The sun was still high overhead beating an overpowering heat on the dead bodies.  It intensified the awful burnt flesh smell that was beginning to permeate the air.  A shout echoed from the other side of the field.

"We've got one!" Cedric yelled.

Draco broke out into a run in Cedric's direction, accidentally landing on several bodies in his hurry.  By the time he got their, most of the Resistance fighters were already there.  The Death Eater they had found was unconscious and they were in the process of tying him up with magic ropes.  He was lying on his stomach, his hands bound behind his back.  His dark hair and skin were stained with the blood of the giant lying beside him.  When they levitated him up off the ground, he rolled onto his back and Draco recognized his face.

"Dean Thomas," he breathed.

Ginny nodded beside him, mistaking his surprise for sad recognition.

"I know," she said sadly.  "Finally, after all he's done, we'll get to pay him back.  I'm surprised he's here, with him being a high-ranking Death Eater and all, and this just being a sneak attack to weaken us before the real one."

Draco nodded, hoping he looked like he knew what she meant.  The troops around him began making their way back to the castle, with Dean floating just in front of them, his heading lolling from side to side.  Draco turned back and looked at the battle field around him.  The grass under his feet was sticky with blood.  When he lifted his shoe, it came away slick and red.  There must have been over three hundred giants, Dementors and Death Eaters littered about on the ground, with the smoke from the forest beginning to cloud them from view again.  From behind him, someone called an unfamiliar spell.  The bodies before him started to disappear.  Not instantly; they sort of faded, from the feet up, until there was nothing left.  

It was a long process and Draco stood watching until the last mangled body had vanished from sight.  All that was left to indicate a battle had taken place was the still smouldering remains of the forest and the blood-covered grass before him

~~~ooOOoo~~~

"Where were you?" Ron asked as Draco entered the base.

Draco had had another flash of memories, which weren't too interesting, just standing around in the base with people, but it had given him the current password: Turkish Delight.  Draco had a sneaking suspicion that he had chosen this password.  _I've read those stupid Narnia books far too many times, he thought._

"Outside," he snapped at Ron.

Ron looked like he wanted to argue about this, but simply settled for, "You should stay inside for now, it's dangerous."

Draco leaned back against the wall and gave Ron an extremely bored look.  Ron ground his teeth together before turning to Hermione.

"We didn't lose anyone did we?" he said.

"No," she shook her head.  "But Zabini lost an arm."

"Can it be grown back?" Ron asked.

"I don't think so," Hermione said.  "Our last mediwizard was killed at Hogsmeade.  No one else here is qualified to even attempt medical magic like regrowing a limb."

Ron swore and looked over to where Blaise had been stretched out on the floor.  A young witch was magically cleaning and bandaging the bloody stump at his left elbow.  Blaise grimaced and bit down hard on the rolled up cloth in between his teeth.  The rest of the Resistance fighters were replacing their weapons and heading in the direction of the showers.  Dean had been chained to a far wall, from which he was hanging limply, still unconscious.

Ron beckoned both Draco and Cedric over.  Cedric came at once.  Draco lazily took his time meandering over.  He was not about to start being cordial with Weasley, even if the wanker _had saved his life._

"Listen," Ron said quietly when Draco arrived.  "Greg had too much of a head start on them for that many to have gotten here so soon since they can't Apparate in the grounds.  Hogwarts is unplottable, so the only way You-Know-Who could have found out the exact location is if someone told him.  And Goyle wasn't high enough in rank to know.  In fact, there are only a handful people here who do.  Draco, you don't even know."

Draco snorted, "That's what you think."

Ron narrowed his eyes at Draco, who suddenly grabbed his head.  He saw a dark corridor, somewhere near the Transfiguration hallway of the school.  Someone standing in the shadows was speaking softly to a glowing, translucent figure who floated a few feet above the ground.  The memory instantly became recognizable to Draco and he remembered the evening as if it were just a moment ago.

"We obviously have a spy," Draco said, before anyone noticed his strange behaviour.  "Someone who's got high level information."

Ron and Cedric looked suspicious, Hermione looked surprised.  

"Obviously," Cedric repeated.  "Do you know something?"

"I heard them talking to someone a few nights ago," Draco said nonchalantly. 

"What?" Ron gasped.  "Why didn't you say something?"

"I didn't see who it was," Draco shrugged.  "It didn't seem important."

"Draco, you always do this!" Ron threw his arms up in disgust.  "Nothing is ever important enough to mention!  Could you at least tell if it was a man or woman?"

Draco thought for a moment.

"I can't really be sure, a man I think, the voice was low, but then, I might be mistaken," he shot a deadly sneer at Hermione.  "Most of the Mudblood women are a bit manly."

Ron's fist was so fast, Draco didn't even see it move.  It connected with his chin and Draco stumbled backwards.  Ron grabbed the front of Draco's robes and shoved him roughly up against the wall.

"It's one thing when you insult me," he snarled dangerously.  "But you'd just better watch yourself.  Not everyone trusts you here like I do."

Draco licked his bottom lip and tasted blood.  _Not everyone trusts you like I do…  Another memory flickered through Draco's mind.  A tangle of limbs and a flash of red hair.  Draco's lip curled at the thought, as a rush of related memories flowed before his eyes.  He knocked Ron's hands away and licked his lip again gingerly._

"I don't think it's me you should be worried about trusting," Draco growled.  "I'm probably the least likely person in the world to be a spy for them.  And you know it."

Ron reluctantly stepped back, rubbing at his knuckles.  Behind him, Cedric also looked fairly murderous and Hermione looked apprehensive.

"It seems to me," Draco continued.  "That the smartest thing to do would be to wake Thomas and question him.  Chances are he knows who the informant is."

"We don't have any Veritaserum left, or the ingredients to make it with," Cedric said after a moment.  "We'd have no idea if he was telling the truth or not."

"There are other ways of making a person talk," Draco scoffed.

"Draco," Ron warned.

"Yes, yes, I know," Draco said impatiently.  "'We will not sink to their level' etcetera etcetera.  You've told me.  Do you want to find out what we need or not?"

Ron didn't answer.

"That's what I thought," Draco said.

He pulled out his wand from his robes and strode over to Dean who was still hanging unconscious from the wall.

"Draco, no!  Wait!" Ron called but it was too late.

Draco lifted his wand and cried, "_Crucio!"_

Dean instantly jerked awake and screamed.  The witches and wizards still mingling around jumped back in fear.  Dean's body trembled and he continued screaming terribly.  Draco muttered softly and Dean stopped screaming.  His body slumped against the wall.  Draco dropped to his knees and grabbed Dean violently by the chin and forced his face up.

"Who's your spy?" Draco asked.

"What?" Dean looked confused, still hazy from the pain.

Draco pointed his wand at Dean again and looked meaningfully at him.

"No!" Dean said quickly.  "No, please!"

"Then tell me," Draco said insistently.

"I-I don't know," Dean said, then quickly added when Draco lifted his wand, "None of us know!  The Dark Lord wouldn't tell any of us.  He said it was too important, that we couldn't risk being captured and revealing the information."

Draco nodded, "That's smart of him.  Unfortunately for you, it means you are of no use to me."

Draco got back to his feet and stepped back slightly and pointed his wand at Dean.  He spoke softly, calmly.

"_Avada Kedavra."_

There was a brief flash of green light and the next instant, Dean's face was blank, his eyes still open, a look of terror on his face.

Draco felt a hand land hard on his shoulder and spin him around.

"What are you doing?!" Ron bellowed.  "You didn't have to kill him!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, you're right," Draco said sarcastically.  "I should have thanked him for his help and let him go prancing back to You-Know-Who."

"You know that's not what I meant," Ron said in a low voice.  "You're stepping way out of line, I'm the one in command here, not you.  You're just-"

"Just what?" Draco snapped, cutting him off.  "Just your bitch?  Wake up, _Ron.  The Mudblood's right.  We are losing this God forsaken war and if someone around here doesn't start acting like a leader we're all going to die."_

With that, Draco turned and stormed away to the dorms, leaving a seething Ron behind.

"Trouble in paradise?" Cedric snarked.

"Fuck off," Ron snarled.  "Go help Hannah with Zabini.  I'm going for a walk."

Ron walked quickly out of the base, the wall closing on his retreating figure.

~~~ooOOoo~~~

Draco sat on the edge of his cot, raking his fingers through his hair.  He had taken a long, scalding shower and located his proper battle wear, which he remembered having left under his bed.  The vest felt itchy against his soft skin and his boots felt a bit too loose.  However the outfit in general was much more practical in a fight.  Easier to move around in.  

His memories had come flooding back to him.  He now remembered almost his entire life in this world.  The Ceasg had certainly created something to entertain herself with.  The memories she had fashioned for him weren't all too happy, except for a few.  And Draco didn't want to think about those ones.  Of course, he still could remember his life in the real world.  Those memories were much fresher, more real somehow.  He assumed this was because he had only really been away from that world for a day.  As much as the memories from this new reality were familiar, they were unfamiliar at the same time.  Almost like someone else's memories for an event which you weren't really there for, but had been told of.  Yes, that was what they were like, someone else's memories, because Draco would _never have done some of the things he was recalling.  __Never.  It just wasn't possible.  It wasn't him, it wasn't the way he acted and there had to be a good reason for all of it.  It must be the war or the lack of other people.  That was it, it was because there wasn't really anyone good-looking around here.  They were all horribly scarred or deformed or handicapped from hexes.  That was the only possible reason he was acting like this.  _

That wasn't what troubled Draco the most though.  What really ate at his heart was the fact that when he really thought about it, pictured it in his mind, it wasn't as disgusting as he thought it should be.  It didn't bother Draco at all, in fact, when he thought about it.  And that was what bothered him the most.

There was also the strange new feeling he was experiencing, somewhere deep in his stomach.  It felt different, not altogether bad, but not good either.  Somewhere in between tingly and piercing.  It had been upsetting his body ever since these disturbing memories had surfaced.  Draco was very afraid of what that implied.  

The acquisition of these memories was helping him to get back into character.  Obviously his outburst earlier in the base, while not completely unexpected, had surprised the others.  He remembered being slightly less of a trouble maker around here, but had caused commotion on certain occasions.  He wouldn't have to keep prompting them for information anymore.  He realized now that he knew more than most of them anyway.  He could even remember who You-Know-Who was.  

He could hear arguing outside the door.  It sounded like Ron and Cedric but he couldn't be certain.  They voices were muffled.  Someone shouted something that sounded like "like a child" but he really wasn't sure.  The door burst open suddenly to reveal a very angry looking Ron Weasley.

~~~ooOOoo~~~

The base wall slid open and Ron stepped through.  

"You're back sooner than I thought," said Cedric, looking up from a map on a table.

"Couldn't concentrate properly," Ron muttered.  "Need to talk to him."

He walked purposefully towards the dorms.  Cedric moved to block him.

"Not that I'm defending him or anything, you know what I think of him, but something's wrong right now.  I don't know what, but I think you should give him some space.  If you crowd him, he'll only act up more."

"I, ugh, I mean, I know that, it's just," Ron groaned in frustration.  "I'm in charge here and you seem to be the only one who understands that.  Hermione's sending the reconnaissance people off without my permission, Draco's torturing and killing prisoners.  If I can't get a handle on things this whole operation will go up in smoke."

"Calm down," Cedric put a comforting hand on Ron's shoulder.  "There's a reason why you're in command.  Karkaroff chose you as his successor because he knew you were the right person for the job.  He wouldn't have picked you if he thought you couldn't handle it."

"I know," Ron sighed, then frowned.  "But I need to talk to him."

He broke away from Cedric and almost got the door open, before the other man blocked him again.

"Ron, just let him be for now, you'll only make things worse," Cedric said forcefully.

"Cedric, I've known him for three years, that's enough time to get to know someone's personality, if I let him sulk for too long he'll just start getting cocky," Ron said.

"He's always been cocky."

"He's acting like a child and I'm not going to deal with it anymore!  Now move," Ron said in a dangerous tone.

Cedric knew better than to argue at this point.  He stepped aside.  Ron threw the door open and walked in, slamming it behind him.  Draco looked mildly surprised from where he was sitting.

"Can I help you?" he asked snottily.

Ron's lips twitched.

"Stop it," he said.

"Stop what?" Draco said innocently.

"This!" Ron cried.  "Acting like you're king around here!  You've been acting strangely ever since this morning and I just don't get it."

"I'm back to normal now, haven't you noticed?  My head's all better now," Draco tapped at his temple.

"Yeah, I've noticed.  But I wish you'd stop with this whole attitude thing.  I have enough trouble with Hermione," Ron dropped onto the cot beside Draco.  No matter how hard he tried, Ron just couldn't stay mad at Draco.

Draco didn't respond, he looked blankly at Ron, tracing over his face with his eyes.  This Ron looked different here.  Different from the Ron he knew, only the same.  His face looked older than his eighteen years.  His eyes were darker, they seemed to reflect the pain he had experienced.

"What was all that about you being my bitch?" Ron asked, half concerned, half amused.  "You know I don't make you do anything you don't want to.  In fact, if I remember correctly, this was _your idea."_

"Yes, I remember," Draco stood suddenly.  "I remember just fine."

Ron rose too and reached out to grasp Draco's hand.

"What is it then?"

Draco looked down at Ron's hand holding his own.  Ron's skin was rough and callused from battle.  It contrasted with the pale skin of Draco's own hand.  However, despite the differences, they seemed to fit together just right.

"I just…I- I need some… time to myself," Draco said.

Ron released Draco's hand.  He looked extremely hurt.  He nodded curtly.

"Of course, whatever you need," he said and turned to leave.  

Draco gritted his teeth and balled his hands into fists.  As he left the room, Draco caught a glimpse of Ron reaching up and brushing furiously at his cheek.

Maybe those stupid feelings weren't what was bothering Draco the most.  Maybe it was that telling Ron he needed to be alone was the hardest thing he'd ever had to do.


	5. Chapter 5

Yay!  I'm back!  After the whole retarded removal of NC-17 stories, this was pulled from the site, but now it's back under an R rating.  But fear not, when I update the next chapter, I will include a list of sites I'm hosted on where you can find the alternate NC-17 chapter.  Sorry ever so for the delay, but I've been so busy with university, I hope you all understand.  Please review!

~~~ooOOoo~~~

**Chapter 5**

The next few weeks passed rather quickly.  A shielding charm was developed around the castle which would, hopefully, keep the Death Eaters out longer than the last one had while allowing curses to pass through from the inside.  Members from other Resistance bases were arriving also.  They didn't increase the battle force by much, maybe doubled it, but that still wasn't much.  It wasn't even as big of an army as the one that had been sent previously by You-Know-Who, and he had thousands more just waiting.  

Draco had become reaccustomed to his life here.  It was as though it had always been this way, although he still remembered his prior reality.  However he still had reservations about his activities here; mainly activities involving Ron.

Ron had been polite to Draco ever since the 'I need to be alone' incident, but not overly friendly.  They kept their distance from each other and did not speak unless absolutely necessary.  In fact they tried to ignore each other as best they could.  Nevertheless, Draco couldn't ignore the strange feeling in his stomach as he would have liked to.  It was there all the time, like a dull ache impeding all his thoughts and intensifying whenever Ron was present.  As much as he tried to pay no attention to it, it got more and more difficult as the days passed.  

He found that Hermione had also started avoiding him.  He hadn't thought the stupid Mudblood comment he had made would have had such an effect, but apparently it had made her very angry indeed, for she wouldn't even talk to him anymore.  In fact, Cedric was really the only person who would talk to him right now.  As much as they didn't like each other, Draco was grateful that _someone would talk to him.  He felt he might go mad otherwise.  The conversations between the two of them were somewhat strained though._

"You should talk to him, you know," Cedric had said with his mouth full one night at dinner.  "You both need to clear the air between you."

Draco made a muffled incredulous snorting noise through his soup.

"You're only making things worse," Cedric continued.  "Maybe you should-"

"I'm not talking to him," Draco said, cutting Cedric off.  "I don't want to and I don't have to."

"You sound like a two year old," Cedric scoffed.

"Don't nag," Draco said.  "I'll talk to him when I'm good and ready."

"He didn't hurt you, did he?" Cedric asked.

Cedric gave Draco a searching look.  During the course of their relationship, Ron had been known to lose his temper once in a while, often taking it out on Draco, who had been more than patient.  As much as he hated to admit it, Cedric was disgusted to see the way Ron treated Draco sometimes.  It wasn't just that Ron's behaviour in these instances was repulsive, but Draco took it without a word of complaint, which made it all seem worse.  Draco had only been physically injured once that Cedric knew of, however it might be happening again.

"Don't be stupid," Draco snapped.  "Of course he's not hurting me.  Can't I just spend some time alone once in a while?"

"Draco, the way things are going right now, you can't afford to be alone," Cedric said.  "For all we know, we'll be dead tomorrow morning."

Draco wanted to protest, but he knew that Cedric was right.  With the threat of a Death Eater attack looming like a shadow over their lives, he knew that he may not have much time left.  Maybe that wish he'd made hadn't been such a good idea after all.  That memory had become hazy in his mind.  In fact a lot of his memories from his previous life were fading.  This was undoubtedly the Ceasg's doing, as she continued to make this world more permanent.  Obviously as this was her first wish in several centuries she was taking it very seriously.  Draco found himself hard pressed to recall events which only last week had been fresh in his mind.  Even the image of Harry's face was becoming blurry and surreal, like a dream.  He was certain that soon, he wouldn't remember Harry at all.

~~ooOOoo~~

"We'll need to have reinforcements here and here," Ron stated, pointing at a 3D model of Hogwarts.  "That way, if their forces break through, they won't be able to reach the major entrances to the castle."

"But then we leave these areas relatively unprotected," Hermione pointed out.  "The south wall is virtually empty."

"We just don't have enough people to cover everywhere, Hermione," Ron said.  "If the Resistance base at Edinburgh hadn't been ambushed yesterday, we might have enough to guard the south wall, but as it is right now, we need to make do with what we've got."

"Maybe if we herded up some Hippogriffs from the forest and set them up around the south wall," Ginny suggested.

"We don't have time to train them," Cedric said.  "And besides, the Death Eaters might get them bowing and then they'd be able to get in."

"And I think a lot of them got killed in the fire," Hannah Abbot said.

"We're just going to have to post two or three very competent people on that side," Ron said, shaking his head regretfully.  "We can't afford any more than that."

Draco, who had been leaning casually against a wall approached the table and began moving the small figurines around the model until they were completely repositioned around the castle.  There were muffled protests at first, but they died down almost at once.  When Draco was finished, he stepped back and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

Ron surveyed the newly laid out plan and his eyes widened.

"Of course," he breathed.  "That works perfectly, I should've seen it."

He looked up from the model and locked eyes with Draco.

"Good work," Ron said slowly.

Draco managed a thin smile before turning and exiting the base.  He wandered around the halls of Hogwarts aimlessly for what felt like hours.  It was when he did this that his memories from his past life were the most vivid.  He could recall dashing down the corridors when he was late for class, trying to coax directions out of the occasional portrait when he got lost.  He trailed his fingers along the cold stone of the walls as he walked, the touch bringing back more feelings than sight alone.  He eventually found himself in front of the entrance to Gryffindor Tower.  Without the portrait of the Fat Lady to guard the entrance, there was simply a hole in the wall.  Draco ducked and stepped inside.  It was mostly barren; a chair with a broken leg sat lopsidedly at the far end of what would have been the common room.  The walls were bare and covered in cobwebs.  Draco ascended the stairs to the dormitories and entered the first door.  There was one four-poster bed left in the room, but it was missing both legs on its right side, so it leaned precariously to that side.  There was no mattress on it and the wood had been severely damaged by termites.  Could this have been Ron's bed, Draco wondered, if he hadn't changed everything.  

Gazing out the single window in the room, Draco tried to imagine the young Gryffindors laughing and joking in this room, with no war waiting outside for them.  It made Draco feel oddly warm inside to picture it.  Suddenly becoming uncomfortable, Draco quickly left Gryffindor tower and continued his wanderings.  

Draco soon found himself standing in the middle of the Entrance Hall.  It was vast and intimidating, seeming much emptier because of the lack of decorations.  To his right, he could see that there were still four long tables in the Great Hall.  He walked inside slowly, his soft footsteps echoing through the Hall.  What would have been the Ravenclaw table had about six feet missing at one end, so it tipped slightly.  Some of the benches had fallen over also.  Images flashed through Draco's mind of breakfast in this Hall, with lots of noisy students running around, grabbing toast and tearing off to class.  He made his way to the Slytherin table and placed his hand on it.  The wood was hard and very dusty.  His hand came away grey with dirt.  He walked the length of it until he reached the spot where he would have sat during meals.  Bending over, he picked up a fallen bench and set it right.  He sat down gingerly on the rotting bench and stared around the immense room.  The ceiling had not been charmed here, so he could see the wooden beams above him were in need of repair, much like the rest of the castle.  It smelled very musty and dust was floating through the air in large clouds.  The bench under him felt strange and comforting at the same time.  

He didn't know how long he sat there, but the shadows of the tables lengthened and it grew dark.  The sky outside the windows turned orange and purple, outlining the distant mountains in a glowing dim light.  Draco didn't lift his head when he heard someone come up behind him.

"You've been coming here a lot lately," Ron said quietly, dropping down beside Draco.

Draco didn't answer at first, but closed his eyes and took a long, deep breath through his nose.  This place smelled like the past.  He could almost touch the magic that hung in the air.

"It's a nice place to be when I want to be alone.  It helps me think," Draco said.

"And what have you been thinking about?" Ron asked.

"Another world," Draco smiled.  "A better world.  A world where we don't have to fight, not yet anyway, and we live the way normal teenagers should."

"Sounds nice," Ron said.

"Mmm, it is, but I'm not sure whether it's a dream or not, it seems so real."

"What do you mean?" Ron asked.

Draco looked over at Ron, coming back to reality and realising that Ron didn't know what he was talking about.

"Nothing, just me talking crazy talk," Draco responded.  "I'm just so sick of all this, aren't you?"

"I don't know," Ron shook his head.  "My life's never been anything _but this.  I'm not sure I could live any other way."_

Silence descended on them as Draco watched the sun from the window sinking lower and lower until it disappeared entirely, leaving only weak beams of red light.  For the first time, he didn't flinch when he felt Ron's hand on his arm.

"I'm sorry for the way I've been acting," Ron said gently.

Draco looked into Ron's eyes.  They were so sad; desperate for some sort of reaction from Draco.

"No, don't apologize, it's my fault," he said.  "I was feeling strange and I pushed you away without explaining, but I'm feeling almost back to normal now."

Ron smiled, still looking concerned.

"I want to help if I can, I don't like seeing you upset, you know that," Ron said, reaching up to stroke Draco's cheek.

"I know," Draco said.

Ron's hand resting softly on his face still felt wrong somehow.  Wrong and yet so right.  He had accepted the aching feeling in his stomach for what it was, but he couldn't let go of the hatred he still felt from his previous life.  It was literally tearing him up, with such conflicting emotions causing such confusion.  Draco reached up and took Ron's hand in his own.

"It's just that, lately, I've been worrying that we're too close," Draco said.

Ron withdrew his hand, looking hurt.

"That's not what I meant," Draco said hastily.  "I mean, what if something was to happen to one of us?  I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."

_Did I really just say that?  Draco wondered.  __That didn't sound right at all._

At any rate, Ron's expression softened.  He smiled warmly at Draco.

"Draco, that's exactly what you said when we first got together, I thought you'd gotten over that," he said.

"I thought I had too, but then…" Draco drifted off.

Dare he tell Ron how he really felt?  This had first started out as simply as a convenience relationship.  They had both needed contact with someone.  But now…

"But what?" Ron asked.

Draco put his elbows on the table and planted his head in his hands.

"Nothing, nothing," he said, shaking his head in his hands.  "I'm really just not feeling well, I need to walk."

With that, he got up and all but ran from the Great Hall, leaving a very confused Ron Weasley sitting at the Slytherin table.  The halls were now very dark with no torches to light the way.  Draco ran and ran until he wasn't sure where he was and he was so out of breath that he collapsed against a wall, sliding to the floor.

His eyes stung with tears and his breath came in ragged gasps.  _Stop it, he told himself, __you're being stupid and weak.  Struggling to take deep breaths and regain his composure he was about to rise and head back to base when a soft glowing light caught his attention.  It was coming from the open crack of a door which led to a disused classroom about ten feet down the hall.  It was a bluish colour which lit the doorway around it.  Draco made his way very quietly towards the doorway, stopping to remove his shoes first in case he made undue noise.  He stopped about halfway there and listened carefully.  He could hear voices coming from inside but they were speaking so softly that he couldn't make out what they were saying.  _

There wasn't a doubt in his mind that this was again the spy from their base giving information to You-Know-Who.  They were getting desperate; this was the second time they had spoken directly from the castle even knowing that Draco had heard them the first time.  He continued edging closer and closer, but it wasn't till he was right beside the door that he could actually hear the voices properly.  He was so close that he could even see the figures inside.  The spy was standing with their back turned talking to a floating image of You-Know-Who's head.  It was what was producing the unearthly light, bathing the room in its blue glow.  Although the features were distorted somewhat, he was easily recognizable.  The eyes glinted, just as Draco remembered, with hate and malice.  But the long, greasy black hair had been cut shorter and was cropped closely to the head.  If it was at all possible, it made Severus Snape look even more frightening.

"Last time you were seen," Snape growled.  "You are growing more and more careless."

"I'm so sorry, Master," the spy grovelled.  "It was Malfoy.  I didn't know he saw me until he mentioned it a few weeks ago.  I don't know how he found me, I didn't think-"

"That is precisely what happened, you didn't think," Snape said.  "Tell me, do you ever think?  Or are you just looking for a way to join the winning side so you won't die when this is all over?"

"Oh, no, no, Master," the spy said quickly.  "I believe in the cause.  The Resistance is weak.  You are going to be the salvation of the wizarding world by eliminating the Muggles and Mudbloods."

"That is interesting, coming from you."

"You have purified others," the spy protested.  "Dean Thomas!  He was a Mudblood and you made him pure.  I wish for the same."

The glowing head nodded slowly and a sinister sneer twisted its features.  It was exactly as Draco remembered his Potions Master looking when he found something amusing.

"And what makes you think I will purify you when the Resistance has been eradicated?" Snape asked smoothly.

"I-I thought, you said in return for information," the spy stammered.  "You-you would purify me."

Snape's head looked thoughtful.

"Yes, I did say that, didn't I?"

The spy began whimpering and pleading.  Draco found it hard to recognize the voice.  They kept whispering so he wasn't sure if it was a man or a woman.  All he knew for sure now was that it was a Mudblood.  _How many Mudbloods do we have with enough information to interest Snape?  Draco thought.  There was Hermione, who certainly had access to the information, and she __had sent Goyle out on reconnaissance.  Maybe she had planted the information on him.  But she just didn't seem to be the evil type.  There was also Hannah Abbot.  She was quiet and reserved, so she could easily fly low under the radar.  Terry Boot's mother had been a Muggle, but Snape had massacred his entire family, so he didn't seem like a likely candidate.  That left just one person: Lavender Brown.  She was meek and sometimes flighty, but Draco wouldn't put it past her to do something like this to save her own hide._

"Master, I have been nothing but loyal," the spy continued.  "Surely I can be granted this one gift?"

"We shall see, we shall see," Snape said.  "If all goes well during the attack day after tomorrow, then you shall have your reward."

"Oh, thank you, Master, thank you," the spy simpered.

"You will, of course, correct the battle plan Mr. Malfoy so graciously designed, will you not?" Snape inquired.  "He is beginning to make a pest of himself."

"Yes, Master," the spy replied enthusiastically.  "I will rework the battle plan to your specifications, the south wall will be left unprotected."

"Very good," Snape said.  "And make sure Mr. Malfoy is brought to me alive.  Mr. Weasley as well.  I want to see the look on Weasley's face when we execute his lover."

"Oh, how dreadful, Master," the spy cackled.  "It will be perfect."

"Yes, yes it will be," Snape smirked.  "Now, get back to your post.  They will no doubt be missing you by now."

"Yes, of course, Master," the spy bowed deeply.  

The floating head fizzled out of sight.  As it disappeared, it took the light with it.  Draco now stood in the complete darkness of the hall.  Draco heard heavy, laboured breathing from the spy who was apparently trying to compose his or herself.  Feeling vulnerable standing in the open hallway, Draco began silently slipping away from the classroom.  He wasn't fast enough, however, and the door opened, the spy exiting quickly.  With nowhere to go, Draco pressed himself against the wall and hoped it was so dark that he wouldn't be seen.  He clamped his mouth shut and stopped breathing.  

The spy walked straight past him, obviously too caught up in their own thoughts.  As they disappeared down the hall, Draco caught a flash of their face from the dim moonlight through a window.  He recognized them instantly and his mouth dropped in shock.  That had been his last guess.  He supposed it made sense when he thought about.  They were too smart to be fighting with the Resistance, knowing that the war was heading for disaster.

Double checking to make sure that the spy had a significant head start, Draco made his way back to base through the darkened corridors.  How was he going to deal with this?  He didn't want to go and tell Ron outright, chances were the redhead wouldn't believe him anyway.  He had to, though.  If he didn't forewarn them of the approaching attack, they would be caught by surprise and wouldn't even stand a chance.  They were weak enough as it was; perhaps with this bit of information they might be able to mount a more adequate counter-attack.  

_What am I doing, helping these Muggle lovers? his mind questioned.  It seemed so out of character for him.  Yet he felt perfectly comfortable when he entered the base and pulled Cedric discreetly away to the side._

"What is it?" Cedric inquired.

"I saw our spy feeding information to Snape again," Draco whispered.

Cedric flinched slightly at the name.

"What did you hear?"

"Go get Ron, he'll want to hear this," Draco said.

Cedric hurried over to Ron who was conversing with Terry Boot.  Cedric whispered in Ron's ear for a moment.  Ron's head shot up and he half ran across the base to Draco.

"What did you see?" Ron asked.

Draco quickly told him about what he had seen, but conveniently left out who the spy was; they would never believe him, and it didn't really matter now anyway.  They were both expectedly doubtful.  He eyed Draco suspiciously, but seemed convinced that Draco had no reason to make something like this up.

"They're attacking, day after tomorrow," Draco said.  "And it seemed important to Snape that the south wall be left unprotected, so we need to make sure that it's doubly reinforced than it is right now.  The spy is going to try and rework the plan I devised, so we need to counter it as best we can without them knowing.  We'll station people there at the last minute, so nothing looks amiss to Snape."

"What if it's a trap?" Cedric cautioned.

"Do we have a choice?  We can't just assume it's a trap, ignore it and then find ourselves dead in the morning," Ron said.  "Now go get Hermione, we'll need her help."

Cedric looked confused, but called across the base for Hermione nonetheless.  She looked up from the model of Hogwarts she had been working at with Lavender Brown and came over to them.

"What is it?" she said.  

"Draco saw the spy again tonight," Cedric said.

Hermione's eyes widened.

"Why didn't you stop them?" she said.  "We could have found out what information they've been feeding to You-Know-Who."

She looked decidedly worried that a spy was wandering about amuck without being apprehended. 

"Couldn't risk Snape thinking something was up," Draco said.  "We just need to make sure that the south wall is protected now.  They'll be attacking day after tomorrow, so we need to start getting ready."

"The south wall?" Hermione looked puzzled.  "Lavender has just been working on the plan, she's found a better way to protect the castle as a whole, but the south wall is left a little open.  Are you sure it's that important?"

"Absolutely," Draco nodded, looking over at Lavender.  "I want it completely covered with fighters."

"Well, I'll see what I can do," Hermione said, returning to Lavender.

Draco turned back to Cedric and Ron who were looking very sceptical about this whole plan.

"This whole plan could go up in smoke," Ron pointed out.  "You do know that, right?"

"Of course I know, you pillock," Draco sneered.

"That's alright," Cedric said, placing a hand on both their shoulders.  "If we lose, we'll die heroes, battling evil and protecting the innocent."

Draco was silent for a moment, and then Ron burst out laughing.  Draco shook his head.

"Protecting the innocent?" Ron guffawed.

Cedric shrugged.  He looked nonchalant about Ron's reaction.

"Like to remind myself once in a while just what it is I'm going to die for."

Ron stopped laughing.  He nodded curtly before heading for his dormitory.  Cedric and Draco stood together for a moment in silence.

"Off to bed, then," Cedric said finally.  "Big day tomorrow, with all the planning.  Night, Draco."

He disappeared up the stairwell, leaving Draco standing alone.

"Yes," Draco said.  "Big day."

He then followed Ron's path to his room.


	6. Chapter 6

This chapter may seem a little short. That's because I have removed the naughty parts. Or at least I tried. It may still be a bit dirty, hopefully not too dirty though, I don't want it to get taken down. Anywho, sorry this took so long, but I was trying to make the chapter perfect. I hope you agree. The NC-17 version of this chapter is posted on Jux's website 'Fire and Ice': justsend me an e-mail at vistagazershaw.ca and I'll send it along to you. Thanks ever so for the kind reviews. Dee, you are correct, we don't know who the spy is… yet. Tasy took a guess, anyone else care to try? Alrighty, enough of my babbling, to the story! Please review!

ooOOoo

**Chapter 6**

The moon crept slowly across the sky as Draco watched from the window. Wisps of clouds floated past it, momentarily obscuring it from view. The moon was different tonight, Draco thought. It was harsher, less forgiving than the moon he was used to. Its light was flawed and dim, casting pale shadows across Draco's face. He tugged lightly at the sleeve of his nightshirt. It was far too small for him, but it was the only one he owned. He had had it for years now, and sentimentality refused to allow him to discard it. His boxers were newer, but not by much. They at least fit properly.

Draco sat back from the window and rolled onto his stomach on the bed. He and Ron were the only ones who had a private room. They hadn't used it in over a month though, since Draco had refused. It was much smaller than the other dormitories, but it had a real bed, and it was private. On occasion they would loan it out for a few nights to some of the married couples. Tonight they had it all to themselves.

Draco watched as Ron pulled off his vest and pants and put on his lone pair of pyjamas bottoms. He never wore a shirt. Ron wandered over to the bed and sat softly on the edge, reaching over to run his fingers through Draco's hair.

"Tell me about Percy," Draco said suddenly.

"What?" Ron asked, taken by surprise.

"Percy," Draco said, sitting up and placing a hand on Ron's knee. "He died before I joined. Tell me about him."

Ron looked pleased and a little confused. In three years, Draco had never once asked anything about Ron's deceased family members, nor offered to talk about his own loss. Ron suspected this sudden interest might have something to do with the fact that they might be dead in two days, but that didn't matter. At least he was asking now.

"Percy," Ron said. "Percy, Percy."

He trailed off for a few moments, recollecting some fond memories. Draco waited patiently. Ron hadn't talked about Percy with anyone except Ginny for a very long time. It was going on six years now that Percy had been dead, and Ron had tried to forget the intense pain he felt in his chest whenever he thought of his older brother.

"Percy was fun," Ron said at last. "He could be a bit strict sometimes, very strict, actually, especially when we were younger. He was very bossy when he was a kid. But he knew when to have fun. He used to play with Ginny all the time when she was just a baby. He would put her up on his shoulders and carry her around, and she would laugh and laugh. He had big, funny looking glasses. He could've had his eyes repaired, but they were my dad's reading glasses, so he kept them."

Ron stopped for a moment, remembering his father. His eyes shone brightly.

"Percy was the one who was supposed to be in charge, Karkaroff had decided. I was only second choice, since I was so young. Percy would have made a great leader, much better than me anyway. He was more practical, less emotional."

"The greatest leaders in history were the most emotional," Draco said. "We couldn't ask for a better commander than you."

Ron smiled weakly and reached down to grasp Draco's hand.

"Thank you," he said softly.

Draco smiled reassuringly and squeezed Ron's hand.

"How did he die?" Draco asked.

Ron took a deep breath, as though bracing himself.

"He was sent out on recon when he was sixteen. I was twelve at the time I think. He didn't come back when he was supposed to, but we couldn't go out looking for him or we risked getting caught ourselves. They delivered his body to us about a week later. He was all covered in cuts and blood. They left him naked and shaved his head. That's why Ginny keeps her hair that way. We never found out the exact person who killed him, but it looked like a lot of people were involved; probably group torture. He never breathed a word about anything that they asked him, even with the Veritaserum. He was too strong, he wouldn't-"

Ron couldn't go on. His body trembled and he brought a hand up to his eyes to try to block his tears from Draco's view. Draco reached up and pulled Ron's hands away from his face.

"Don't," Ron whispered.

"I saw my father get killed," Draco said, wiping a tear from Ron's cheek. "He had just come out of a meeting with the top Death Eaters, and Voldemort was waiting for him outside. He was angry that my father had risen so quickly in the ranks. He wanted to secure a place for himself at Snape's side when the war was over. I was coming to meet my father for dinner. Voldemort came up from behind; I saw the sword in his hands. I tried to scream, but I couldn't. So I just stood there and watched as my father bled to death. I didn't even stay with his body. I went to find Voldemort."

Ron looked somewhat stunned.

"How did you kill him?" Ron asked.

"I don't think you want to know," Draco smiled sadly.

"Well, whatever you did, he deserved it. No one deserves to lose a father."

"I didn't kill him for my father," Draco said coldly.

Ron sat back a bit. Draco's face had become very blank and emotionless. It was a little bit frightening.

"Who then?"

Draco looked Ron straight in the eyes.

"For Percy."

Ron was speechless. He sat rooted on the spot, his mouth hanging open.

"After I saw what he did to Percy…I was only biding my time, waiting for a good excuse to kill him and come join you."

Ron continued to stare, motionless and hushed. Draco was afraid that Ron might never speak to him again, when Ron suddenly leaned forward and kissed him softly. Draco was startled and, for an instant, something inside him wanted to pull away. But that wasn't right at all; this was the way he and Ron had always been. Would always be.

Draco let his eyes flutter shut and brought a hand up to tangle in Ron's tousled hair. It had been _far_ too long since they'd done this. Draco knew it was his fault and felt a twinge of guilt. Something had been bothering him, though. He'd been sidetracked with something, but what was it? He'd gone out for a walk today to think about what it was that had been troubling him, but now he couldn't remember.

Ron's tongue teased gently against Draco's lips, and he parted his mouth slightly. Draco felt Ron's hand come up to cup the side of his face, his fingers sending jolts of electricity coursing down Draco's spine. He shivered lightly at the touch. Ron pulled away and Draco nearly whimpered in protest.

"I've missed this," Ron whispered.

"Me too," Draco said.

"Earlier today, when we were in the Great Hall, you started to say something, about how we were too close, what was it?" Ron asked.

Draco swallowed. With impending doom looming over them like a storm cloud, he hadn't wanted to say anything. It would only cause greater pain if one of them was injured or, God forbid, killed.

Squirming on the bed, Draco fidgeted with the sheets for a few moments.

"It was nothing, don't worry about it," he said quietly.

Ron reached forward and tilted Draco's chin up.

"Please, tell me."

Draco pulled his face away from Ron's hand. He sighed and then turned to face Ron.

"I tried not to, with everything that's been going on," he said quickly. "It's only going to cause more trouble, not to mention the grief I'll get from Cedric. I just didn't want to make you angry or push you away or-"

"Draco," Ron chuckled. "While I'm still young?"

Draco took a deep breath. _It's now or never, I guess._

"Ron, I, I think I've fallen in love with you, you stupid git," he said quickly.

Ron's jaw snapped shut. His eyes widened until Draco was afraid they might explode from his head. He sat, unmoving, staring straight into Draco's eyes. Draco searched them for some sign that Ron hadn't died on the spot. Minutes ticked by and still Draco saw no reaction. Then, unexpectedly, Ron closed his eyes and shook his head, as if to clear his mind of unwanted thoughts.

"Ron, I- mmpphh!" Draco was cut off by Ron's mouth pressing forcefully against his own.

Draco was pushed back into the softness of the pillows as Ron pressed softer kisses along the length of his neck, paused to suck gently just below Draco's ear. Draco moaned, tangling his hands in Ron's hair. Ron brought his lips back up to Draco's, tenderly pushing his tongue into Draco's mouth. Draco entwined it with his own, running his hands along the smooth skin of Ron's back. Draco could feel the heat rising off of Ron's body; it was nearly tangible.

Ron broke their kiss briefly to pull Draco's nightshirt off. Draco hissed as Ron's hands, hot to the touch, ran across his chest. Gripping Ron's arms tightly, Draco leaned up and bit at the flesh between Ron's shoulder and neck. Ron growled and pushed him back onto the bed, kissing him hard. Draco ran his hands roughly up Ron's sides, smiling an almost-sneer when Ron shuddered in response. Reaching down, Ron began toying with the edge of Draco's boxers. When he started trying to pull them away, Draco smacked him on the arm.

"Gently!" he scolded. "They're my only pair!"

Ron rolled his eyes.

"Nag, nag, nag."

Draco pursed his lips and playfully batted away his lover's hands. He sat up slightly and carefully removed his boxers, dropping them to the floor beside the bed. Ron did the same with his own, then bent down and pressed his lips to Draco's. He was much softer this time; slowly taking the time to memorize every inch of Draco's mouth, while lightly trailing his fingers up Draco's leg. Draco moaned into Ron's mouth and arched upwards. Ron began trailing hot kisses down Draco's throat and chest. As he continued moving downward Draco's breathing came in ragged gasps. His hands were balled into fists, clutching at the sheets.

It took Draco a few moments to recover afterwards. His breaths were coming in shaky spasms, and his vision was still somewhat blurred. Ron looked up at him, a cocky grin on face, licking his lips. Draco's eyes narrowed and he quickly grabbed Ron's shoulders, flipping him over and reversing their positions.

"I like this better," Draco purred.

Ron had several ugly, jagged scars on his chest and stomach. There was a story for every one. The one that stood out the most prominently was the one on his left breast, just over his heart. It had never healed properly, and Ron refused to have a mediwizard treat any of them. Ron had received this one three years ago, at fifteen, the day that Draco defected. Draco had escaped from Snape's headquarters and fled to Hogwarts, pursued by Snape's second in command, Ludo Bagman. When Draco arrived, the Resistance fighters had refused to lower the shielding around the castle; Draco was not someone to be believed in those days, and by himself he could not force his way in. Bagman had arrived shortly after on his broomstick with a curved sword in hand, no wand. Draco didn't like thinking now of just what Bagman had had planned for him. Caught up in the moment Draco had fumbled for, and dropped his own wand. His body was pressed up against the invisible shield, having no where to run, when suddenly the shield was released and Draco fell backwards. There was distant shouting from the entrance of the castle and then Ron had come hurtling across the lawn. Bagman was standing directly over Draco, who struggled to his feet, only to be promptly thrown aside. There was a harsh yell and a thud as someone fell beside him. Then a curse echoed from the castle and Bagman disintegrated. Looking over, Ron was lying on the ground, Bagman's sword deep in his chest, blood staining the grass. Karkaroff and a mediwitch had come running up to them, the mediwitch conjuring a stretcher for Ron.

"You'd better be worth it, Malfoy," Ron had coughed, blood at the corners of his mouth. "You'd just better."

"You were, you know," Ron's voice broke through Malfoy's reverie.

Draco realized he had been tracing the scar with his fingers.

"What?" he asked.

"Worth it," Ron said.

"You're just saying that cause we're all gonna die," Draco smiled.

"Am not," Ron said. "Though maybe I could work on you eulogy: 'Here lies my beloved Draco, my spring flower. Kind of gross now that he's all dead and-' ow!"

Draco had smacked Ron on the arm. He bent down and kissed him softly.

"Don't plan that just yet," he said. "We may still make it."

Ron smiled sadly, then gasped as Draco's hand snaked its way down between his legs. It was only the ghost of a touch though, and it disappeared quickly.

"This may be our last chance…," Draco said.

"I know," Ron nodded. "We should make the most of it."

He began moving, as though to reposition himself on top, but Draco put a hand firmly on his shoulder, forcing him back down.

"No," Draco said, shaking his head. "Like this."

He indicated his position on top of Ron. Ron's eyes widened momentarily. They had never done that before, only ever the other way around. Ron was rather apprehensive, but decided that it was worth a try, especially if it was what Draco wanted.

"Alright," he said quietly.

But Draco was already rifling through the top drawer of the bedside table to withdraw an old, mostly empty tube, the logo on the front worn off with age. He squeezed a small amount into his hand and applied to himself. The sensation was new and strange, somewhat tingly. Kneeling between Ron's legs, he lowered himself slightly. Ron looked mildly concerned and his breathing had quickened.

"Just say so and I'll stop," Draco reassured him.

ooOOoo

Draco lay on Ron's left side, his head nestled on the red head's shoulder, his arm draped lazily over Ron's bare chest. Ron was running his fingers through Draco's hair.

"That was…intense," Ron said quietly.

"Mmm," Draco said in agreement.

"Did it feel like that for you the first time?" Ron asked.

"Like what?"

"Dunno, like whole, I guess. Kinda hard to describe."

"Yeah, like that," Draco said. "Hard to describe."

There was a comfortable silence. Draco watched the clouds in the window float away to reveal the moon again. It was different than it had been before, more warm and caring, less harsh. The light reflected in his silvery eyes. He gripped Ron tighter.

"Promise me you won't die when the Death Eaters attack," Draco said.

"You know I can't promise that, you git," Ron said. "Because if I do, I'm sure to die, and then you'll be the one working on my eulogy instead."

Draco turned his head up to look at Ron in the face.

"I'll never be the one to write your eulogy," he said. "Besides, I think Cedric would rather do it."

They lapsed into silence again. Draco's thoughts wandered to the upcoming battle. This would be the end, and he knew it. It was unlikely that any of them would come out of it alive. He was surprisingly unafraid and not very sad. His feelings were tending more towards regret, and a sense that it was his fault, though he didn't know why.

"I promise I won't die," he whispered.

Ron stroked his hair.

"I hope they do though. Every last one of them. I hope we can set their bones on fire and rip their hearts out through their eyes. I hope they die screaming for their mothers and whimpering for mercy. And I hope Snape can feel what Percy felt when he died."

"That's evil," Ron said softly.

"Deep down, I'm evil," Draco replied.

Ron paused, considering this.

"I know."

I left this note to the end to be sure it got read. I received an e-mail some time ago from an individual requesting to post my story on their site, Erised ( I think that was the name). Unfortunately, I accidentally deleted the message and lost their return address. If you're out there, please e-mail me again, I'd love to have my story on you site. Thanks.


	7. Chapter 7

Oh, my God, I'm sorry this took so long.  University is very stressful and leaves little time though.  I hope you understand.  We're coming close to the end.  I foresee only one chapter after this, but possibly a sequel as well.  I hope you all went and read the NC-17 version of the last chapter, as I worked quite hard on it.  This is slash, for anyone who is still wondering, so run real fast if that's not your thing.  Also, I own nothing, so please don't sue.  Please review some more!  Many times if you feel the need.

~~~ooOOoo~~~

**Chapter 7**

The sun rose, massive and red, spilling liquid rays of scarlet across the castle of Hogwarts.  In a room with no curtains in what had once been the Slytherin dormitories, Draco Malfoy flinched at the sun's brightness and tried to squirm away from it.  He was mildly successful.  The sun did disappear from his view, but only because he had rolled completely off the bed and landed ungracefully on the floor.  

"Every morning," he grumbled, rubbing his head.

He picked himself to see Ron grinning at him from beneath his tangled mess of red hair.  He looked like he was trying not to laugh.

"Should I put a gate on your side, like babies have on their cribs?" he asked.

"Ha ha," said Draco, monotone.  "You've been awake and waiting to watch me fall, haven't you, you great prat?"

"How dare you!" cried Ron.  "Would I ever mock your misfortune?"

Draco glared at him dubiously and crossed the room to pick up his clothes from the floor.  Ron grabbed his arm as he passed and pulled Draco into his lap.  Ron kissed Draco gently and traced his fingers over Draco's back.  When he pulled away Draco looked slightly less annoyed.

"That won't always work," Draco said.

"But this morning?"

"Yeah, this morning it did," Draco agreed, smiling.  "But we'd better get dressed and to work, we haven't got much time."

Ron's expression grew serious and he nodded, tossing the covers away and snatching up his own clothes.  When they were both fully dressed, Draco moved to make up the bed.

"Why are you doing that?" Ron asked.  "We'll be sleeping here again tonight, and we'll just mess it up again."

Draco paused, something felt wrong.  _Tonight_, he thought.  Would they be sleeping here again tonight?

"Maybe not tonight," he said at last.

Ron looked quizzical.  

"I don't know," said Draco.  "I've just got a strange feeling."

Still not understanding, Ron went to the opposite end of the bed and helped Draco make it, smoothing all the wrinkles.

~~~ooOOoo~~~

Several hours later the work being done in the base was frenzied and it was done in an almost absolute silence.  Muffled whispers echoed in the high-ceilinged room, and there was the occasional sound of footfalls on the cold stone floor, but that was all.  Draco stood quietly watching Ron, Cedric and Hermione moving the small figurines around the model of Hogwarts.

"We need more on the south wall," Ron said.  "This new plan you and Lavender came up with just doesn't cut it."

"But look how well we're protected if they attack from the north, or over the lake," Hermione protested.

"And if they attack from the south?  Then what?  The plan Draco came up with the other day works much better, we'll use that one," Ron said with finality.

"All right, all right," said Hermione, throwing her arms up in defeat, then muttered under her breath, "It's not like it matters anyway."

Draco's head jerked in her direction.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Hermione glanced cautiously over at the group closest to them, then said quietly, "You know we're all going to die, it doesn't matter where we position ourselves.  By this time tomorrow, all that will be left of the resistance is a memory."

"Shut up," hissed Cedric.  "Some of the people here are just kids.  This is their last hope, don't take that away.  Besides, who knows, maybe something will happen, we'll make it through.  We have that new magical barrier set up already."

Hermione and Draco both snorted in disbelief.  

"You're too optimistic, Cedric," Draco said.

Cedric shrugged and smiled sadly.  The expression pulled at the scar on his face; he looked grotesque.

"Someone has to be," he mumbled.

Draco instantly felt guilty.  He didn't want to die either; at least Cedric was holding on to some shred of hope.  He closed his eyes momentarily, letting his mind drift into a fantasy world.  He saw himself and Ron, sitting by the edge of the lake at Hogwarts, leaning against each other in the warm summer breeze, watching the water lap softly on the shore, and skipping rocks over its surface.  It was a beautiful dream, and Draco wanted it to go on forever.

_It was like that once, you know_, said a voice inside his head.  _Maybe not exactly the same, but almost._

"Draco?"

"Hmm, sorry, what?"

"I asked if you were all right," Ron was saying.

"Fine," said Draco, smiling weakly.  "I just…"

He trailed off, his head dropping to look at the floor.  Ron reached a hand up to caress Draco's cheek.

"I know," he murmured.  "But either way, it'll be over soon."

Draco nodded, hoping he looked more confident than he felt and leaned in to kiss Ron.  

But he never got there.  

There was a brief moment when the base alarm went off.  It wailed for less than a few seconds before it was silenced.  They were all plunged into darkness and a thunderous boom echoed from outside.  Then it was quiet again.  No one moved, no one spoke.  Then it came again, so strong that the very walls shook.  Dust erupted from the cracks, and objects fell from their tables.  Someone from across the base muttered "_Lumos" and a small speck of light appeared.  The others followed suit until most of the room was lit.  _

"What the hell was that?" Cedric said in a hushed voice.

"I think we'd better get outside, _right now," said Draco._

There was momentary confusion as everyone rushed to grab a weapon, and in that moment Draco spotted Hermione slip out the door into the hallway.

"Ron!" he called.  "She's running!"

"Let her go!" Ron cried back.  "It doesn't matter now!  She and You Know Who were obviously expecting you to overhear that last conversation.  Their attack was planned for today."

Draco growled at this evident trap, furious with himself for not having spotted it sooner.  

"Then maybe all that rubbage about leaving the south wall unprotected was a decoy too," said Cedric.  "They knew we knew there was a spy, so we'd put extra people there, and then the north would be left more vulnerable.  We should head for the north wall then."

Ron nodded, tossing an axe to a young witch as she prepared for battle.  She was far too young, Draco thought as she passed him, probably no older than fourteen.  

"Okay!" Ron shouted.  "I want everyone out on the north wall!  Everyone!"

Draco snatched a serrated sword from the table and made to follow the crowd, as did Cedric.

As Draco headed for the door Ron grabbed his shoulder and spun him around, kissing him hard on the lips.  Draco gripped Ron's hand.

"Try not to die," Draco said when they parted.

"I can't promise anything," Ron replied.

Draco clenched his teeth.  There was something rotten about all of this.  He couldn't figure it out, and something told him he wouldn't until it was too late.  He stole one last look at the deserted base before rushing out the door behind Cedric and Ron.

~~~ooOOoo~~~

The air outside the castle was tangible.  It hung heavy around them as they collected around the north wall. The invisible shield that Ron had ordered constructed around the castle was shimmering.  Someone outside was trying to get in.  The sun had disappeared, despite the fact that it was still early in the afternoon.  But there was no moon either, or stars.  Just an empty void, looming over them all.  The mass of Resistance fighters assembled at the north wall of Hogwarts numbered less than three hundred at best.  A pitiful attempt to stop what would probably be an army of thousands.  Perhaps tens of thousands. Draco gripped his sword in his right hand, his wand in his left.  His knuckles stood out white against the harsh bronze of the sword handle.  

Something fizzled overhead and a small crack appeared in the barrier.  Low moans came from some people around him.  The crack grew larger until in was a hole, and the hole grew larger until the barrier gave way with a roar and a rush of wind that knocked some of them back.  Draco struggled to keep his balance as Ginny staggered beside him.  He clutched her arm to steady her.  When the wind gave way, he could see clearly what was before them.

The sky was red, or maybe it just seemed that way.  As far as he could see, going all the way to the mountains in the distance, there was a sea of Death Eaters.  Every so often the taller figure of a giant or Dementor stood out.  They were all dressed in black, with the shiny glint of steel reflecting from the sun.  Draco spun around suddenly.  His stomach sank.  The Death Eaters stretched as far as he could see behind them as well.  North wall or south wall, it didn't matter.  Severus Snape had just wanted them all grouped together.  And they had played right into his plan.  It was as simple as herding sheep. 

From somewhere among the midst of the Death Eaters a spell was cast, and beside him, Draco felt Ginny fall to the ground.  

For a moment it was chaos.  They all scattered, although the circle drawn around them was fairly small.  A few managed to cast curses on the closest Death Eaters, but they stopped when they saw Him step forward.

His hair reached almost to the ground and didn't even move in the wind.  Bony, white fingers were curled around a steely, black wand, held in his left hand.  Most strikingly, his robes were a dazzling white, so bright it was painful to look at.  Leisurely he raised his wand.

"_Pulvis_."

Everyone's wand and weapon crumbled into dust.  Sharp cries rang out.  Some tried to attack Death Eaters by hand.  They were soon silenced.  

She stood beside him, dressed in her Resistance clothes, looking small and insignificant.

"I see our little ruse was a success," he said to her.

His voice was almost melodious.  It flowed smoothly from his mouth, disappearing in the wind.  Everyone cringed at it, even Hermione.

"Yes, my Lord," she said quietly.

"_Bitch_," Draco hissed under his breath.

Severus Snape turned his head and smiled.  For a moment, Draco thought he had died.  The sight of Snape's lips pulled into such an unnatural shape almost made him sick.

"I don't think Mr. Malfoy is very happy with you, Hermione," he said.  "And who can blame him?  You've sold your soul and in return you will all die."

"But, but, Master, you promised," Hermione whimpered.  "You promised purification."

Snape turned to face her again.

"Oh, so I did.  Do you still want to be purified?"

Hermione nodded vehemently.

"Very well," Snape sighed, as if performing a chore.  "_Cor."_

At first nothing happened.  Draco realized he had been holding his breath.  Hermione had a strange expression on her face.  Then Draco saw that Snape was holding a heart in his right hand.  The blood dripped from between his fingers.  It was still beating.  He squeezed it gently.  Hermione screamed.  He relaxed his fingers and Hermione's shoulders slumped.  She panted heavily.  He waited a few seconds, then crushed it in his fist.

"There's your purification, Mudblood."

Hermione didn't even have time to scream, and she was already dead when her body fell to the ground.  The Death Eaters laughed.

"No!"

Ron rushed forward and dropped at Hermione's side.  Cradling her head in his hands, he smoothed back her hair.

"Ron!  Get back!" Cedric cried, but it was too late.

Two Death Eaters pulled him up and dragged him to Snape.

"Ron!" Draco tried to get to him, but Cedric grabbed his arm, holding him back.

"They'll only kill you too," he muttered.

"They're going to kill us all anyway," Draco snarled.

But Cedric held him back, digging his heels into the ground.

Snape touched Ron's cheek with his fingers.  Ron jerked away from the cold.  Snape smiled again and grabbed Ron's hair roughly.

"So this is the famed leader of the Resistance?  A child?  For some reason, my Death Eaters led me to believe that you were some sort of warrior," he purred.  "Now isn't that funny?" 

Ron swallowed, sweat pouring from his face.  Snape suddenly jerked his head back.

"I said, isn't that funny?"

"Fuck you," Ron growled.

"My, my.  There's no need for such language just yet Mr. Weasley.  I'm sure I'll get an earful from Mr. Malfoy once you're dead."

Draco swore loudly.

"You see?" Snape said.  "Now Mr. Malfoy, why don't you pay close attention."

Snape carefully handed his wand to a Death Eater beside him and turned so that Ron was standing in front of him, and they were both facing Draco who was still being held, with some effort, by Cedric.  Snape gripped Ron's head between his hands.

"No," Draco said softly.  "No, please."

"Please?" Snape inquired pleasantly.  "Please what?"

"Don't," Draco said, his voice cracking.

"Don't what?" Snape said, more harshly.

"Don't kill him!" Draco cried.

"Kill him!" Snape laughed.  "Now why would I want to do that?"

A Dementor suddenly stepped forward, masking them both from Draco's view.

"NO!" Draco screamed.

Delivering a sharp jab to Cedric's stomach with his elbow, Draco broke away and rushed across the clearing to Ron.  That run lasted forever.  Draco saw the Dementor step away in slow motion, and Ron's body slumped slowly to its knees.  He was vaguely aware of the Death Eaters behind him closing in on the rest of the Resistance troops.  He heard Cedric call after him from a distance, but it faded away.  Quiet screams echoed in the back of his mind.  He finally reached Ron and dropped down beside him, gripping his shoulders.

"Ron?" Draco asked.  "Ron?"

Ron's face stared back at him, expressionless, unmoving.

"Ron!" Draco slapped him.

Ron's face snapped back from the slap, but said nothing.  Draco pulled him tightly against his own body, almost crushing them.  Ron's body did not react.

_Get to the mountains_, a voice inside Draco's head told him_, fast, you can still stop this._

Draco suddenly dropped Ron's body to the ground.  He jumped to his feet and tackled the nearest Death Eater, ripping her wand away from her.  Panicked, he struggled to remember the conjuring spells his father had taught him; how to make something from nothing.

Snape yelled something to one of his Death Eaters, who started running towards him.  Draco gritted his teeth.  What was that stupid spell?  The ground was trembling as the Death Eater approached.

"_Accidere Firebolt_!" he cried, remembering.

A state-of-the-art broomstick floated in the air before him.  Draco swung his leg over it and took off.  In a matter of seconds, the army below him were ants.  They tried to send curses, but he was too high.  He heard angry shouting from Snape, and within moments, over a dozen Death Eaters were on their own conjured broomsticks, racing after him.  

Draco leaned forward on his broom, urging it faster.  The landscape beneath him flashed past at amazing speeds.  He felt a curse brush past his ear.  He swerved to the side, avoiding a second one.  Without looking back, he pointed the wand behind his shoulder.

"_Crucio_!"

He heard a scream, but it quickly died away.  

The mountains were quickly becoming larger.  

_It wasn't this fast last time_, the voice said, _I think your broomstick was broken._

_Last time_?  Draco thought, _What last time?_

But he ran out of time for contemplation.  The mountains were right in front of him.  He dove for the ground, plummeting, lower, lower.  Trees rushed past and he tumbled from his broom.  He hit the ground so hard the world spun in front of him.  He scrambled to his feet and shot into the forest.  Stumbling blindly in the darkness of the trees, he heard the Death Eaters land gracefully.  The leader instructed them to split up and search for him.  Draco ran onward.

Branches were cutting at his cheeks, blood mixing with his sweat and dripping from his face.  He tripped over a root, got up and kept running.  It seemed like hours.  The trees all looked the same.  He couldn't hear the Death Eaters anymore, but he was sure they were there.  They could probably hear his heavy panting and footsteps.  Then it was all silence.  Draco's feet didn't make any more noise.  All he could hear was his breathing and then he saw the small stone building containing the well and he ran harder and all the memories of his life came flooding back so swiftly that he fell to the ground.  

Moaning in pain, he struggled to his feet again and ran the last few steps to the door, muttering to himself, "Pull the door, you have to pull the door."

He pulled the door open and lurched inside, slamming it behind him.  He cast the strongest barrier charm he could think of, but he knew it wouldn't buy him much time and he could hear the Death Eaters not far off.

Turning, he rushed to the well and, picking up a stone, threw it inside.  He reeled back quickly as a blinding light filled the room and for the second time, he saw the Ceasg in front of him.  She was exactly as he remembered.  

"Draco Malfoy," she said.  "Are you enjoying your world?"

"No!" he cried.  "No, I'm not!  You have to change it back!"

The Ceasg smiled a terrible smile.

"Change it back?" she repeated, and laughed.

"Please! Please, you have to turn it back!"

Tears streaked down Draco's cheeks.  He felt a stabbing pain in his chest and thought of Ron.  _I never should have made that wish._

"I am under no such obligation," the Ceasg replied.

Draco thought of all the Resistance fighters, of Cedric and Ginny, lying dead in the field outside Hogwarts, staining the ground red with their blood.

"They're all going to die! You can stop it! Please, don't do this!"

He heard the explosion when the Death Eaters had first arrived.  He heard the screams of the young witches and wizards.

"I shall do as I please. As for this world, it is of your creation, not mine," the Ceasg smiled and looked as if she would return to her well.

Draco was filled with a sinking sense of despair.

"Please, you can't do this!" he sobbed. "What do you want? A sacrifice? I can give you that!"

The Ceasg looked at him piercingly, her eyes penetrating into his soul.  He heard shouts, and footsteps outside.  A crackling noise as the Death Eaters encountered the barrier.

"A sacrifice! That's what you want! Oh, God, they're almost here. Take me! Take me and make everything the way it was before I wished for all of this! Please!"

A simple knife appeared on the dirt before him.  His hand trembling, Draco snatched it up and drove it into his chest.  There was a crack as the metal hit bone. The Death Eaters defeated the barrier and stormed inside.  They stopped short at the sight of the Ceasg. 

"_Crìoch iarr."_

Draco's blood flowed down his robes, staining his hands, staining the ground.  Everything was blurred.

There was a flash of light.

Then nothing.


	8. Chapter 8

We have reached the end. This chapter is a little short, since it's more of an epilogue than an actual chapter. As for a sequel.who knows? Is anyone really interested? If you are, send me a personal e-mail and tell me, because I'd like to know that there is actual interest before I start anything. I'm leaving on vacation in a few days and won't be back till the beginning of June, at which time I begin a full-time job, so any sequel will be slow in the making. Blah, blah, blah, I talk a lot, don't I? Anywho, read on and please, please review!  
  
Chapter 8  
  
Draco opened his eyes.  
  
Everything was dark and hard. He couldn't hear anything. Lifting his head from the ground, he struggled into a half-sitting position. The world spun before his eyes, so he rested back, propped on his elbows. He found he was still in the well. There were no Death Eaters to be seen and the Ceasg had disappeared. Everything else appeared the same. A glint of light. He reached down and picked up the knife from the ground. There was no blood on it and indeed there was no wound in his chest. Bringing the blade up to his face he saw tiny words inscripted in a foreign language. He was about to put it back down when they began to change. It was slow, letter by letter, then he could read it: Pain is the path to understanding.  
  
He wasn't sure what it meant.  
  
He put the knife back on the ground and looked behind him through the doorway. Feeble rays of sunlight were struggling to break through, and he wasn't sure but he thought he heard a bird chirp just outside. It appeared to be dawn. Groaning, Draco stumbled to his feet, leaning against the wall for support. He made his way towards the exit when he tripped over something. He caught himself before he could fall and looked down. His Nimbus 2001 lay on the ground at his feet. It looked exactly the same as when he had left here, in this world, all those months ago. Draco reached down and picked it up, running his hands along the smooth wood.  
  
It was good to be home.  
  
~~~ooOOoo~~~  
  
Draco took his time returning to Hogwarts. He didn't know if the Ceasg had returned everything to normal, but he was going to enjoy his trip back in case he was returning to his own funeral. The mountains and valleys passed lazily below him, the same as they had always looked, no matter what world Draco was in. Tiny villages with tiny people drifted away.  
  
Faster than he expected, he was approaching familiar territory and his heart began beating faster. He leaned forward on his old broomstick, urging it to go faster. He had little success, but he at least felt like he was accomplishing something. He rose over a mountain and saw the lake stretched out beneath him, with Hogwarts rising in the distance. And there were students milling about on the grounds.  
  
Draco whooped and did a loop in midair. He plunged downwards and skimmed his fingers across the surface of the lake. The giant squid reached out a lazy tentacle hoping to prod the intruder, but Draco was already gone. The sun broke out completely from behind the clouds as Draco finally approached the school.  
  
~~ooOOoo~~  
  
"Have you two told a teacher yet?" Hermione asked.  
  
Ron rolled his eyes and looked over at Harry who shrugged.  
  
"Hermione," Ron said. "Malfoy only left this morning. He's been gone three hours at most. Why don't you quit bothering us and go tell a teacher yourself?"  
  
Hermione huffed and turned the page of her textbook. Harry grinned. Ron turned to watch a group of third year Ravenclaws who were playing Quidditch on the pitch. Some of them were probably hoping to be chosen for their house team in the next couple of years. Ron lay back on the grass, his hands under his head, under a canopy of shade from the large elm tree they were sitting under.  
  
"Wish I had been able to make our team, Harry," he said. "Always figured I'd make a half decent chaser, but I guess not."  
  
"Don't worry about it, Ron," Harry said. "Maybe if you had trained with-"  
  
"Malfoy!" Hermione exclaimed.  
  
"Well, I was going to say Oliver, but-" Harry started.  
  
"No! Look!" Hermione pointed upwards. "It's Malfoy, he's back."  
  
Harry and Ron craned their necks, but it took them a few moments before they could pick Malfoy out from between the Ravenclaws. He landed close to an entrance and ran straight into the school, broom still in hand, without talking to anyone.  
  
"Wonder what's up with him," Harry said.  
  
"What's up with him is he's a git," Ron stated. "Who cares? At least now Hermione will stop nagging."  
  
"I do not nag."  
  
~~~ooOOoo~~~  
  
While thrilled to see the students out on the grounds, Draco had to make sure that everything was back to normal before he did any real celebrating. He dashed through the hallways, scaring some first year students out of the way. It wasn't until he reached the stone gargoyle that he realized he did not know the password to Dumbledore's office. Panting, he cursed at himself.  
  
"Language, Mr. Malfoy," came the smooth voice of Snape.  
  
Draco jumped back, snapping his jaws shut to stop from crying out. But this Snape was Professor Snape, and he was merely concerned with his top student's vocabulary.  
  
"What is the matter, Mr. Malfoy?" Snape inquired. "I didn't mean to frighten you."  
  
Draco stumbled back another step. The hand gripping his broom was white.  
  
"N-no, sir, you didn't-didn't frighten," he stammered. "Just startled me."  
  
"Ah, of course. I do apologize," Snape said. "Do you need something from the Headmaster?"  
  
"Yes. Yes I need to see him about something," Draco said. "But, uh, I don't know the password."  
  
"What did you need to speak with him for?" Snape asked.  
  
Although he was not trying to pry, he was merely curious, Draco did not want to answer.  
  
"Er, it's private," he lied.  
  
"Oh, well, in that case," Snape said, then grimaced. "Quackster."  
  
Draco was confused at first, then realized that this was the password as the gargoyle swung out of the way, revealing a staircase.  
  
"There you are, Mr. Malfoy," Snape said, before he continued on down the hallway.  
  
Draco stepped up a few steps and heard the gargoyle resume its post. Quackster, he thought to himself, that sounds very familiar. He reached the top step and knocked on the door. He heard Dumbledore's muffled voice inviting him inside, so he turned the handle and cautiously walked inside.  
  
"Ah, Draco," Dumbledore exclaimed upon seeing him. "What a pleasant surprise to run into you twice in one day. I don't feel we get to see each other enough."  
  
"Er, no," Draco agreed unsteadily.  
  
"So, how did your practice on the pitch go?" Dumbledore asked. "I must admit, I watched for you, but I didn't see you."  
  
Draco cast around for an excuse but could think of none. He stood silently.  
  
"Perhaps it was just my poor eyesight," Dumbledore smiled. "Is there anything I can do for you?"  
  
"I was just wondering," Draco started, then realized he hadn't planned what he was going to ask. "I was just wondering if everything is alright," he finished lamely.  
  
Dumbledore set down the paper he had been reading and looked intently at Draco.  
  
"I'm not sure I understand you, Mr. Malfoy," he said, although his expression indicated that he understood very well indeed.  
  
"Well, Professor..Dumbledore," Draco said, still struggled to remember some names. "I just had a strange feeling, I guess. I just- I wanted to make sure- uh."  
  
"I see," Dumbledore nodded. "Well, Mr. Malfoy, I can assure you that everything is back to normal."  
  
Draco blinked, startled at the expression the Headmaster had just used.  
  
"And I believe I would be wise in warning you not to meddle with reality again," Dumbledore said seriously.  
  
Draco lowered his head, ashamed.  
  
"No, of course, Sir."  
  
"You're lucky you were dealing with a creature who accepts sacrifices well."  
  
"Yes, Sir."  
  
Dumbledore's face broke into a smile.  
  
"Well then, Draco, if you will please excuse me, I have so very tedious however pressing paperwork to complete before the weekend is over."  
  
"Yes, Sir," Draco said and quickly exited the Headmaster's office.  
  
When he found himself once more in the hallway, an uncommonly large smile spread across his face. There were a few friends he needed to see.  
  
~~~ooOOoo~~~  
  
Ron stretched his arms above his head and yawned.  
  
"Anyone fancy going in for some lunch?" he inquired of his friends.  
  
"Yeah, I could do with some food," Harry agreed.  
  
"We've got finals!" Hermione implored. "You two need to study!"  
  
"We also need to eat, Hermione," Ron reasoned. "What's the point in taking finals if you're dead from starvation?"  
  
Hermione shot him a patronizing look, then shut her book.  
  
"Fine."  
  
The three rose and began heading for the Great Hall. Ron pulled out a copy of upcoming school Quidditch schedule and started talking animatedly to Harry, and was therefore unaware that they were approached by a certain pale Slytherin. Actually probably they were attacked rather than approached.  
  
Draco came flying out of the school and ran straight for them. Hermione managed a small squeal of surprise before he grabbed her in a hug.  
  
"Never knew you had it in you!" he proclaimed. "Maybe the Sorting Hat made a mistake!"  
  
"Wha-" Hermione started, but Draco had already moved on to Harry, enveloping him in an equally strong embrace.  
  
"It's so good to have you back, Potter!" he cried. "I had no idea you were that important!"  
  
Harry struggled against Malfoy, and finally succeeded in pushing him away. Other students were watching curiously at this unlikely turn of events. The Ravenclaws had even stopped playing Quidditch and were hovering above them, grinning.  
  
Draco turned to face Ron, who looked apprehensive at receiving a hug. Draco looked at him for a moment, seeming to see him for the first time, before gently wrapping his arms around the taller boy's frame and kissing him quickly. Ron spluttered. Draco pulled back and laughed. A genuine laugh, which none of the three Gryffindors, nor the other students, had ever heard.  
  
"Yes!" Draco crowed, before darting away to a group of Slytherins, leaving Harry, Ron and Hermione looking stunned.  
  
They were quiet. Hermione turned to Harry who shrugged. They watched as Draco slapped both Crabbe and Goyle on the back's, laughing. The two oafs looked just as confused. Harry and Hermione both looked at Ron, who looked straight ahead, a blank expression on his face. He slowly reached up and touched his fingers to his lips.  
  
"Ron-" Harry began.  
  
"Shhh!" Ron hissed. "I'm trying to repress. Now if you'll excuse me for a few minutes, I have to go wash my brain."  
  
With that, he headed for the school. Harry snickered, Hermione scowled.  
  
"Now I'll never get him to study for finals!"  
The End 


End file.
